President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded that Iranian forces unconditionally lay down their arms as he issued a thinly veiled threat that American forces may target Iran’s head of state if the Islamic Republic doesn’t cease targeting Israeli civilians — or targets any American forces in the region.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the U.S. “know exactly where” Iran’s “so-called Supreme Leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “hiding” and described him as an “easy target” who is currently “safe” in his current location.
“We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers,” the president continued before adding: “Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
In a second post moments later, he added another two-word demand: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
The president’s social media comments came less than an hour after he wrote that “we” — an allusion to the American makers of Israel’s military equipment — had achieved “complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” citing the superiority of Israel’s “American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff’” over Iran’s “good sky trackers and other defensive equipment” of non-American origins.
Trump and his administration have steadfastly denied any American involvement in Israel’s days-old campaign to cripple the Iranian nuclear program by destroying nuclear sites, targeting scientists for assassination, and taking out military leaders and much of Iran’s military capabilities.
When Israel began striking Iranian targets last week, multiple administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stressed that the U.S. was not participating and maintained that American forces in the region were being deployed in what has been described as a defensive posture.
But Trump’s ratcheting-up of his rhetoric — and the deployment of more American forces to the region — strongly suggests that he may be considering joining the Israeli effort to take down Tehran’s nuclear program.
