CALLS FOR DIPLOMACY
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
But the prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war.
Senior US Senate Democrats urged Trump to prioritise diplomacy and seek a binding agreement to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, while expressing concern about his administration’s approach.
“We are alarmed by the Trump administration’s failure to provide answers to fundamental questions. By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorisation if he is considering taking the country to war,” they said in a statement.
“He owes Congress and the American people a strategy for US engagement in the region.”
In social media posts on Tuesday, Trump mused about killing Khamenei.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran’s Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: “I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.”
Putin said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel’s right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes.
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
US-based Iranian activist news agency HRANA said 639 people had been killed in the Israeli attacks and 1,329 injured as of Jun 18. Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Source: CNA
