Trump drops hint on Israel war involvement, sparks global speculation

(Reuters): President Donald Trump has hinted he may join Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran but stopped short of confirming any action, leaving the world on edge.

As Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Iranian targets, and panic spread across Tehran, Trump told reporters outside the White House that he hadn’t made a final decision.

“I may do it. I may not do it,” he said. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

His vague remarks fuelled speculation about whether the United States will escalate its involvement in the spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

Offering a glimmer of hope for negotiations, Trump later said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he added, "It’s a little late" for such talks.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. The aim of the talks, which the source said are taking place in coordination with the United States, is to persuade Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear programme solely for civilian purposes.

The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear programme.

Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: "Sure, anything could happen."

Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment centre, Trump said, "We’re the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it – at all." Military analysts believe that Israel might need US military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s demand on Tuesday for unconditional surrender and Iranians jammed highways out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.

Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.

The Americans "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said.

"Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender."

In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran’s police headquarters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.

"We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking with tremendous force at the regime of the ayatollahs. We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. The prime minister’s office published a photo showing Netanyahu convening his cabinet and said it was meeting on Wednesday evening.

He also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel", for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.

Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei, then demanded Iran’s "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as "a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance."

Israel’s military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.

Fleeing Tehran

Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan.

"We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend’s house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime’s decision to pursue a nuclear programme?"

In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. There were no immediate reports of serious damage, while a motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said.

The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed.

At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about.

"I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter.

Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.

In Israel, the Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes.

Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a US military flight out of Israel on Wednesday was used to evacuate some embassy personnel.

Leverage

Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil.

Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed.

The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent "the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property".

Iran’s ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran’s regional allies – Hamas and Hezbollah – in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.