{"id":43682,"date":"2025-06-18T18:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43682"},"modified":"2025-06-18T22:26:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:26:59","slug":"trump-gives-iran-ultimate-ultimatum-as-us-mulls-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43682","title":{"rendered":"Trump gives Iran \u2018ultimate ultimatum\u2019 as US mulls strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PRESIDENT TRUMP<\/strong> said Wednesday he\u2019s given Iran the \u201cultimate ultimatum,\u201d as he publicly weighs whether to wade into the war between Israel<\/strong> and Iran<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have ideas as to what to do,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. \u201cI like to make a final decision one second before it\u2019s due.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president will hold a second meeting in the Situation Room<\/strong> late Wednesday with senior military and Cabinet officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump, who has talked about how he likes to maintain an element of mystery around his intentions as a negotiating tactic, said U.S. involvement in the war is very much on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI may do it, I may not do it,\u201d Trump said earlier in the day. \u201cI mean, nobody knows what I\u2019m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran\u2019s got a lot of trouble. And they want to negotiate. And I say why didn\u2019t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president was asked what he meant by calling for Iran\u2019s \u201cunconditional surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what it means,\u201d Trump responded. \u201cThat means I\u2019ve had it \u2026 No more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor 40 years they\u2019ve been saying \u2018Death to America, Death to Israel\u2019\u2026 they were bullies, they were school yard bullies, and now they\u2019re not bullies anymore,\u201d he added. \u201cBut we\u2019ll see what happens, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s remarks come on the sixth day of conflict in the Middle East<\/strong>, as Israel makes headway in its efforts to cripple Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel pummeled Tehran<\/strong> with missile strikes<\/u><\/a> early Wednesday morning. Israel\u2019s defense minister said they\u2019d destroyed<\/u><\/a> Iran\u2019s Internal Security Headquarters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli officials said they\u2019d likely achieve the bulk of their military objectives<\/u><\/a> within a week or two, according to the Times of Israel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump echoed that timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week, maybe less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/strong> has lost many of his top military officials and scientists, and the U.S. says it knows where Khamenei is hiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Iran is said to be preparing missiles for a counterattack<\/u><\/a>, and The<\/strong> Wall Street Journal<\/strong> is reporting that Israel is running low<\/u><\/a> on missile interceptors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Embassy<\/strong> in Israel is working to evacuate Americans there<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khamenei rejected calls<\/u><\/a> for surrender, and warned that U.S. involvement in the war would result in \u201cirreparable damage to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone,\u201d he said in a post on X<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran\u2019s top allies, Russia<\/strong> and China<\/strong>, have largely remained on the sidelines so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry<\/strong> weighed in Tuesday, calling on Israel to stop targeting Tehran\u2019s nuclear sites because it could lead to global \u201cnuclear catastrophe.\u201d<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. INVOLVEMENT DIVIDES REPUBLICANS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big question hanging over Washington is how far Trump will go, if the U.S. does get involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The range of options includes everything from using bunker buster bombs<\/u><\/a> to destroy Iran\u2019s Fordow<\/strong> nuclear site, to regime change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill\u2019s Ellen Mitchell<\/strong> writes<\/u><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. military is positioning itself to potentially join Israel\u2019s assault on Iran, as President Trump\u2002<\/u><\/a>weighs direct action<\/u><\/a> against Tehran to deal a permanent blow to its nuclear program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are myriad political forces tugging at Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel is hopeful<\/u><\/a> the U.S. joins the bombardment, with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant<\/strong> telling CNN that Trump has \u201cthe option to change the Middle East and influence the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Republicans are on board with targeted strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re seeing Israel now with overwhelming amounts of force,\u201d Sen. Steve Daines<\/strong> (R-Mont.) told NewsNation\u2019s \u201cOn Balance\u201d host Leland Vittert<\/strong>. \u201cThey know they\u2019ve got the United States standing side by side with Israel in this very important moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause once this regime topples, once they\u2019ve destroyed Iran\u2019s nuclear capabilities, this is a reset for the Middle East and a reset for the world,\u201d Daines added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikki Haley<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s former ambassador to the United Nations<\/strong>, said the U.S. \u201cshould not engage in regime change in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur focus should only be on our national security,\u201d she posted on X. \u201cThe Iranian regime has threatened the US with nuclear production for years. We should support Israel in eliminating the Natanz and Fordo sites to prevent the threat of an atomic bomb used against us. The Iranian people should decide who they want to be their leader. That\u2019s their decision, not ours. Stay focused.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-war right is increasingly vocal about how Trump would be breaking his campaign promises by engaging in a foreign war, underscored by a contentious back-and-forth between Sen. Ted Cruz<\/strong> (R-Texas), who is advocating for action, and Tucker Carlson<\/strong>, who opposes any U.S. involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlson quizzed Cruz on his show, peppering him with a question about Iran\u2019s population, which Cruz did not know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know the population in the country you seek to topple?\u201d Carlson responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruz fired back in multiple posts on X, accusing Carlson of circulating a meaningless \u201cgotcha\u201d soundbite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cornerstone of American foreign policy should always be the vital security interests of the United States,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cPresident Trump and I understand that the best way to avoid war is to be strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Iranian regime has been trying to murder President Trump and other American officials for years,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is one of the most basic facts about the threat they pose to the national security of the United States. And yet, there are people who don\u2019t want to act against the Ayatollah \u2013 and so they deny the assassination threats over, and over, and over, and over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the takeaways\u2002from that discussion here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same back and forth has been playing out among other GOP lawmakers<\/u><\/a>, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/strong> (R-Ga.), an isolationist, and Sen. Lindsey Graham<\/strong> (R-S.C.), an interventionist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Bannon<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s former chief strategist, told reporters the MAGA crowd would ultimately support the president<\/u><\/a> if he decides to join Israel in its strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf President Trump decides there\u2019s not a diplomatic alternative \u2026 because he\u2019s been consistent, no nuclear weapon,\u201d Bannon said. \u201cIf President Trump decides to do that, I know, and particularly his skills as a communicator, that he will come and walk people through it and the MAGA movement \u2014 look, they\u2019ll be some \u2014 but the vast majority of the MAGA movement will say, \u2018look, we trust your judgment, you walked us through this \u2026 maybe we hate it but you know, we\u2019ll get on board.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESIDENT TRUMP said Wednesday he\u2019s given Iran the \u201cultimate ultimatum,\u201d as he publicly weighs whether to wade into the war between Israel and Iran. \u201cI have ideas as to what to do,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. \u201cI like to make a final decision one second before it\u2019s due.\u201d The president will hold a second meeting in the Situation Room late Wednesday with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1153],"tags":[1615,1230,33656],"class_list":["post-43682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","tag-iran","tag-trump","tag-ultimate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43682"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43685,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43682\/revisions\/43685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}