President Trump said Wednesday that he hadn’t decided whether to deploy the U.S. military to join Israel’s bombing campaign against Iranian military and nuclear sites, even as his administration moved more aircraft and other assets to the region in preparation for an attack.
Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said he may not make up his mind about deploying U.S. forces until “one second before … because things change, especially with war.” He said the next few days will be “very big.”
Mr. Trump huddled with his top advisers in the highly secure White House Situation Room for the second straight day as Israel stepped up its attacks on Iran.
The president is now weighing an unprecedented move: allowing the embattled Iranian regime leaders to visit Washington to negotiate with him.
“They want to meet,” Mr. Trump said. “But it’s a little late to meet. But they want to meet and they want to come to the White House. So we’ll see. I may do that.”
As the president contemplates a strike on Iran, the U.S. has shifted more forces to the Central Command area of operation. Significant numbers of fighter jets and cargo aircraft, including F-16s, F-22s, F-35s and C-17s, are arriving, The Aviationist, a military publication, reported.
The State Department started evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
This week, the U.S. sent a large fleet of refueling tankers, presumably to keep U.S. bombers in the air, and deployed other aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II aircraft and F-16 Fighting Falcons. On Monday, the U.S. sent a second aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, to the Middle East.
The involvement of the U.S. military likely would be aimed at taking out Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, specifically Fordo and Natanz, using the precision-guided, U.S.-made bombs that can be delivered only by U.S.-made B-2 bombers and American pilots. Analysts say it’s the only weapon in the world capable of penetrating 200 feet underground before detonating and destroying the nuclear complexes.
“We are the only ones that have the capability to do it,” Mr. Trump said. “But it doesn’t mean we are going to do it at all.”
The president brushed aside criticism from some of his biggest supporters, including Tucker Carlson, demanding that the U.S. military stay out of the Iran-Israel fight.
Citing Iran’s imminent development of a nuclear weapon, Israel began the bombing on Friday.
“My supporters are for me. My supporters are America First and Make America Great Again,” Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office. “My supporters don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Mr. Trump wants to prevent Iran’s ability to launch a nuclear bomb. He told reporters Wednesday that the Iranian leaders should have signed a new nuclear deal before a 60-day deadline.
The president is now less interested in a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
He said Iran was “weeks away” from having a nuclear weapon, which he wouldn’t allow. The clash has forced the U.S. to the brink of striking the country.
“I don’t want to get involved here, but I’ve been saying for 20 years, maybe longer, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Trump said. “Too much devastation. And they’d use it. I believe they’d use it. Others won’t use it, but I believe they’d use it.”
The president said of his internal debate, “I’m not looking to fight. But if it’s a choice between them fighting or having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do. And maybe we don’t have to fight.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected Mr. Trump’s demand for an unconditional surrender as Israel took control of the airspace and pummeled Iran with missile strikes for a sixth day.
The ayatollah called Mr. Trump’s statements “threatening and absurd” and warned of Iranian retaliation if the U.S. gets involved.
“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” he said. “Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.”
An Iranian government official said Tehran would not agree to Mr. Trump’s demand and would continue with uranium enrichment for “peaceful purposes.”
The ayatollah is in hiding. Mr. Trump posted on social media this week that the U.S. knows his location but isn’t planning on killing him, “at least for now.”
Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told a news conference Wednesday that Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks in the previous 24 hours. Dozens of warplanes were deployed to strike more than 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran, including missile launchers, weapons production sites and a facility that he said produced anti-tank missiles for Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military also struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces, without specifying the agency or location. The strike marks a shift toward targeting Iran’s domestic security apparatus, which has long cracked down on dissent and suppressed protests.
Israel also has struck several nuclear and military sites, as well as two centrifuge production facilities.
Iran, which experts say may be running out of ammunition, has responded with hundreds of missiles and drone attacks that have killed at least 23 people in Israel and wounded hundreds of others.
On Capitol Hill, top Defense Department officials would not publicly disclose the Pentagon’s contingency plans if the president decides to strike Iran.
“They should have made a deal. President Trump’s word means something,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The world understands that. And at the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options, and that’s precisely what we’re doing.”
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.