#Donald Trump# Israel Iran Conflict# US# Russia# Israel Defence Forces
IBNS-CMEDIA: The White House on Thursday said that US President Donald Trump will decide whether to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting Trump.
This comes as the Iranian military has confirmed in a statement on Telegram that it has begun a “new round of combined missile and drone attacks” on military sites in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
“An escalatory and impact-focused trajectory of missile operations targeting military and military-industrial sites remains on the agenda,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
The Israeli military has said Iran used at least one missile with multiple warheads, posing a new challenge to its defences, according to the Associated Press.
While descending, the missile warhead splits, posing a threat to a much wider area than other ballistic missile warheads.
On Thursday, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, told the media that Iran had launched more than 450 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel. He also added that Israel had destroyed about two-thirds of Iran’s missile launchers.
Meanwhile, Russia has warned the United States against any ‘military intervention’ in the Iran-Israel war, according to AFP.
“We would like to particularly warn Washington against military intervention in the situation, which would be an extremely dangerous step with truly unpredictable negative consequences,” AFP quoted Russia’s foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as telling reporters.
The head of Russia’s nuclear energy corporation warned on Thursday that an Israeli attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could lead to a “Chernobyl-style catastrophe”.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that the US will “suffer irreparable harm” for interfering in its conflict with Israel.
Donald Trump has responded, saying he might strike Iran or he might not.
Addressing a press conference from the White House’s south lawn, Trump Wednesday spoke about whether the US will join Israel in its military offensive against Iran to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
“I may do it, I may not do it – nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader had said that his country “will never surrender” in response to Donald Trump’s call for an “unconditional surrender” from Tehran’s regime.
“The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats,” he said.
On Tuesday, Trump issued a warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader, asking him to ‘surrender unconditionally’ and also stating that he knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding and can get him eliminated.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said the only reason the US is choosing not to eliminate Khamenei is to avoid any retaliation against American civilians and troops.
