[Salon] Trump weighs U.S. involvement in Iran, demands “unconditional surrender” as Iran and Israel trade strikes



Trump weighs U.S. involvement in Iran, demands “unconditional surrender” as Iran and Israel trade strikes

Updated
June 17, 2025 at 1:24 p.m. EDT   The Washington Post
Smoke billows from a fire in a building in Herzliya, Israel, near the city of Tel Aviv, following a barrage of Iranian rockets on Tuesday. (Heidi Levine/For The Washington Post)

President Donald Trump gathered his top security advisers Tuesday at the White House, as the U.S. military increased firepower in the Middle East amid ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran. “He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,” Vice President JD Vance said in a post Tuesday on X. In posts to social media, Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Iran and said that the U.S. knows where Supreme Leader is but won’t kill him, “at least for now.” A U.S. attack on Iran could have major consequences for Trump’s presidency and the region. Trump left the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early to decide whether to join Israel in an effort to destroy Iran’s key underground nuclear facilities — or go in a different direction by engaging in last-minute diplomacy with Tehran in a bid to impair its ability to build a nuclear weapon, U.S. officials said. Trump told reporters on Air Force One early Tuesday morning that he was “looking for better than a ceasefire” and wants “a real end” to Iran’s nuclear program.

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