Trump demands Iran's "unconditional surrender" as he considers intervening in the war

WashingtonThe escalating tensions between Iran and Israel in recent days have placed Donald Trump at a turning point that all his predecessors had avoided: deciding whether Washington will actively intervene in the conflict and strike a coup de grâce against Iran's nuclear development facilities. The US president left the G-7 summit in Canada last night to meet with his team in the White House crisis room on Tuesday. In recent hours, the president has continued to send contradictory signals about his administration's position, although in recent statements from Air Force One—on his way back from Kananaskis—he told reporters that he is not seeking "a ceasefire," but rather "a real end" to the conflict. Trump has not given further details about how the resolution of hostilities should take place, leaving an open scenario that indirectly conflicts with Tel Aviv's position.

The Trump administration's inclination to eventually intervene in the conflict appears to be gaining strength in recent hours. Back in Washington, the president made a new post on Truth Social where he implicitly hinted at collaboration with Israel by using the pronoun "we" and speaking of "total control of the skies over Iran." "We now have total and absolute control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good aerial detection systems and other defensive equipment, and they had a lot of it, but they cannot compare to material designed, manufactured, and produced in the United States. Nobody does it better than good old America," the post reads.

Shortly after, Trump continued his threats against the ayatollahs' regime, stating that "we know exactly where the self-proclaimed 'supreme leader' is," but that "we are not going to eliminate (kill!) him, at least not yet." "But we do not want missiles fired at civilians or American soldiers," he warned via Truth Social. Five minutes later, Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" in another post.

Minutes earlier, Vice President Vance wrote a lengthy post on X arguing that whatever decision Trump makes, it will be in the best interests of Americans. “[Trump] may decide that further action is necessary to end Iranian enrichment. That decision is ultimately the president’s. And obviously, people have every right to be concerned about a mess in foreign affairs after 25 years of foreign policy nonsense. But I think the president has earned an issue, and he has earned an issue. As a person, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to achieve the objectives of the American people. Whatever they do, this is their objective,” Vance said.

In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other former members of his administration have been actively pressuring the United States to get involved in the conflict. Israel began bombing the Islamic Republic last Friday with the aim of destroying the ayatollahs' nuclear program facilities, although for the operation to be completely successful it requires the intervention of American B-2 bombers. Tel Aviv does not have access to this type of aircraft, which are the only ones capable of transporting the bunker-busting bombs needed to reach Tehran's buried nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo.

"We believe that the United States of America and the president of the United States have an obligation to ensure that the region evolves in a positive direction and that the world is free of an Iran possessing a nuclear weapon," said former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in an interview on CNN. Meanwhile, on Monday, Netanyahu dismissed in an interview with ABC News the negotiations that Washington had initiated with Tehran on a nuclear deal, which in recent hours the Trump administration seemed to want to reactivate. Last weekend, the sixth round of talks was blown up by the conflict between Israel and Iran.

From Air Force One, Trump had announced that he might try to resume talks with Iran through his special envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance. But he conditioned the meeting on "what happens when I return" to Washington.

Shortly before hastily leaving the G-7, Trump had posted a series of messages on Truth Social in which he insisted that "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon" and warned that "everyone should evacuate Tehran immediately." "Iran should have signed the agreement I told them to sign. What a shame and what a waste of life. To put it bluntly, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I have said it time and time again! Everyone must evacuate Tehran immediately!" Trump wrote in the post.

French President Emmanuel Macron initially suggested that his American counterpart had left the summit to work on a ceasefire proposal between Iran and Israel. "There is indeed a proposal for a meeting and an exchange. A proposal was made precisely to achieve a ceasefire and then initiate broader discussions," the French leader told reporters after Trump's abrupt departure. But the Republican tycoon quickly denied it in a message on his social media platform, Truth Social: "French President Emmanuel Macron, on a publicity mission, falsely claimed that I left the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington to work on a 'ceasefire' between Israel and Iran. False!" Trus said. "He has no idea why I am on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire. It's much more serious. Whether intentional or not, Emmanuel is always wrong," he added.

Fifth day of conflict

The president's departure has arrived in the fifth day of climbing between Israel and Iran, after Tel Aviv began a series of bombings against the Islamic Republic with the aim of ending its nuclear development program. Early Tuesday morning, Iranian media reported explosions and intense anti-aircraft fire in Tehran. Meanwhile, the White House is negotiating with the ayatollahs about the possibility of a meeting this week between Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to the news site Axios, to discuss a nuclear agreement and a ceasefire between the two countries.

This year's G-7 was already marked by memories of 2018, when Trump left early after displaying a series of disagreements with the other member countries. On Monday, he had already signaled his intention again with his insistence that Russia should be part of the group that includes the world's major economies. Even so, Trump has joined the joint statement issued this morning by all partners on the situation in the Middle East, after introducing a series of changes to align more with the discourse of closing ranks with Israel.. "We, the G-7 leaders, reaffirm our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East," the statement said. "In this context, we affirm that Israel has the right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for Israel's security," the statement said, describing Iran as "the primary source of instability and terrorism in the region."

Throughout this time, the United States has been avoiding being drawn into the conflict, although Washington has warned that if its bases in the region were attacked, it would respond. The Trump administration maintains that it has played no role in the exchange of attacks between the two countries, although it has acknowledged that it knew of Tel Aviv's plans in advance and that its first attack came after the expiration of the ultimatum it had given Tehran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program.

Over the weekend, Reuters and the Associated Press reported that when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained his plan to attack Iran to Trump, the president did not object. However, the Republican did veto plans to kill the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response to the rising tensions, the United States has also been strengthening its military presence in the region. It sent additional fighter jets and at least one warship between Sunday and Monday.