‘May, may not…Nobody knows what I’m going to do’: Trump on US role in Israel-Iran conflict

Trump, when asked if Washington would enter the conflict, said: “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

The comments come amid a surge in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with Iranian hypersonic missile and drone strikes and Israeli retaliatory air raids in recent days. Trump’s remarks came hours after Iran’s supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that joining the war would lead to “irreparable damage.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remarks came as Israel intensified its military messaging and ordered civilians to evacuate a district in Tehran, signalling possible further escalation.

In his first comments since the conflict erupted on Friday, Khamenei declared that Israel had made a “huge mistake” by launching the war. A statement read out on Iranian state television quoted him as saying: “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.”

He added: “The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”

According to a report by the New York Times, citing US intelligence officials, Tehran has begun preparing missiles and other weapons to target American bases in the region, in anticipation of a possible US intervention.

Meanwhile, Trump on Tuesday, signalled his growing frustration with Iran. In a two-word post on Truth Social, he wrote: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”.