Standing beside a newly installed flagpole on the White House lawn, US President Donald Trump dropped a mix of warning and ambiguity on Wednesday, refusing to confirm or deny whether the United States will launch strikes on Iran amid its ongoing conflict with Israel.
Pressed by reporters on possible US military action, Trump said with a smirk, “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.” He added, “You don’t seriously think I’m going to answer that question.”
What Trump did confirm, however, was that Iran has reached out to negotiate. “Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate,” he said. “And I told them, why didn’t you talk to me two weeks ago? You could’ve done fine. You would’ve had a country.”
The remarks come after nearly a week of escalating conflict in the region, with Israel claiming air dominance over Tehran and launching multiple strikes on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure.
While Trump initially distanced the US from the Israeli offensive, his recent statements and increased military deployments to the region suggest Washington may be positioning itself for deeper involvement, or using the threat of it as leverage. Either way, Trump appears content keeping Tehran, and the world, guessing. TOI
