Trump weighs potential U.S. military strike on Iran, demands ‘unconditional surrender’

President Donald Trump is considering whether to motorboat a subject onslaught against Iran arsenic helium demands the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "surrender" successful Tehran's struggle with Israel, existent and erstwhile medication officials told NBC News connected Tuesday.

A onslaught by the United States is 1 enactment among a scope that Trump is weighing aft gathering with his apical nationalist information advisors successful the Situation Room connected Tuesday afternoon, the officials told NBC.

The gathering came hours aft Trump warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows "exactly" wherever helium is "hiding."

"Our patience is wearing thin," Trump wrote connected Truth Social.

"He is an casual target, but is harmless determination - We are not going to instrumentality him retired (kill!), astatine slightest not for now," Trump wrote soon aft declaring "total control" implicit Iran's airspace.

"But we don't privation missiles changeable astatine civilians, oregon American soldiers," helium wrote.

Trump successful a consequent station made wide what helium does privation from Iran: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

The Trump medication has insisted that the U.S. is not straight progressive successful what Israel called a preemptive onslaught against Iran connected Friday, which kicked disconnected 5 days of rocket occurrence betwixt the 2 determination powers.

But Trump's latest comments suggest the U.S. is present astatine slightest consenting to endanger nonstop subject involution arsenic it backs Israel's effort to bring Tehran to heel.

The U.S. president's menace against Khamenei came 2 days aft news outlets reported that Trump had vetoed a program by Israel to assassinate the ayatollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu connected Monday downplayed his reported disagreement with Trump implicit Khamenei, saying, "I wouldn't unreserved to conclusions."

The New York Times reported Monday that Trump is weighing whether to assistance Israel destruct Iran's underground uranium enrichment installation astatine Fordo, which could lone beryllium accomplished with the U.S.' biggest "bunker buster" bomb.

The White House did not instantly respond to CNBC's petition for remark connected that study oregon connected different questions astir the latest developments successful the Israel-Iran conflict.

U.S. stocks slid Tuesday arsenic the geopolitical tensions mounted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell astir 300 points, oregon 0.7%, portion the S&P 500 declined much than 0.8% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9%.

Crude lipid futures jumped astir 4.3% to astir $75 per barrel.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, is moving much warships and different craft bearer to the Middle East, NBC reported. The U.S. antecedently deployed subject assets to the portion to assistance Israel sprout down Iranian missiles and projectiles, according to NBC.

Trump teed up Tuesday's menace against Khamenei with an earlier societal media station declaring, "We present person implicit and full power of the skies implicit Iran."

Tehran "had bully entity trackers and different antiaircraft equipment, and plentifulness of it, but it doesn't comparison to American made, conceived, and manufactured 'stuff,'" Trump wrote.

"Nobody does it amended than the bully ol' USA."

On Monday, Trump abruptly returned to Washington, D.C., from Canada, wherever helium had traveled for a gathering of the Group of Seven nations.

The person of 1 of those nations, French President Emmanuel Macron, had suggested successful Alberta that the U.S. would beryllium seeking a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Iran.

Trump swiftly rebuked Macron online, calling him "publicity seeking" and denying that helium had near the G7 acme successful hunt of a ceasefire.

"He has nary thought wherefore I americium present connected my mode to Washington, but it surely has thing to bash with a Cease Fire," Trump wrote. "Stay Tuned!"

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