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U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Wednesday that he has not closed the door on a meeting with Iran. "I may do that," he said ahead of a meeting at the White House Situation Room to discuss Israel's operation.
Earlier, he told members of the press outside the White House that he demands unconditional surrender from Iran and the elimination of its nuclear program.
You know, Iran was very close to signing what would have been a very good agreement for them, and maybe that could still happen. I guess, you know, they do want to come and see us. They want to see me in the White House. That's a big statement, but it's very late.
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U.S. President tells reporters Iran deal still possible
(צילום: FoxNews)
The president said he has not yet decided whether the United States would join the attacks on Iran, specifically on the underground nuclear installation at Fordow.
"It's just something that people talk about having. We're the only ones. I have the capability to do it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it at all," he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers during a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday that he was not dragging the United States into the war. "It is ultimately the president's decision," he said. Israel had reportedly hoped that the U.S. would use its bunker-busting bombs on Fordow, where Iran's most advanced centrifuges are installed in an underground fortification. "I haven't made a decision," he said.
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Trump was asked by a reporter in the Oval Office about the debate within the Republican party and among his supporters on whether the U.S. should get involved in the fighting and especially the objection voiced by former Fox host Tucker Carlson.
"I don't want to fight either. I'm not looking to fight. But if it's a choice between fighting and [Iran]having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do," he said and repeated that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.
He said Israel was doing well in its attacks aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear facilities, adding that he believed that Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon before the attacks began.