President Donald Trump left the question of whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran up in the air on Wednesday, as he said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations.

“I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters as he supervised the installation of a new flagpole on the White House South Lawn.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised message that the country “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace” as the archfoes entered their sixth day of war.

Israel launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences on Friday, killing top commanders, scientists, and civilians. It claimed the strikes are part of a broader operation codenamed ‘Rising Lion’ to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, which the latter has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.

Latest developments:

• Death toll in Iran rises to nearly 600, US-based rights group says
• Iran warns will respond firmly if US becomes directly involved in Israeli strikes
• IRGC says it used hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles; Israel hits 2 centrifuge production sites in Tehran, Karaj
• Trump’s National Security Council meets but officials say no decision yet
• Options under consideration by US reportedly include using giant ‘bunker-buster’ bombs
• Evacuation of foreign nationals continues; some Israelis return
• France plans European ‘initiative’ to end Iran-Israel conflict

Addressing reporters about whether the US would enter the fray after his earlier comments, Trump said: “I can tell you this, Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate.”

Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House to negotiate on Tehran’s nuclear program to end Israel’s air assault, but added that it was “very late”. “I said it’s very late to be talking. We may meet. There’s a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference,” Trump added.

“They’ve suggested that they come to the White House. That’s, you know, courageous, but it’s, like, not easy for them to do.”

He reiterated his demand for an “unconditional surrender” from Iran, saying: “I’ve had it. I give up. No more. Then we go blow up all the nuclear stuff that is all over the place there [in Iran].”

Trump said the next week would be “very big” without elaborating. When asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: “Nothing is too late.”

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, even as he declined to confirm preparations of strike options on Iran, that the US military was “prepared to execute” any decision Trump might make on matters of war and peace.

“If and when those decisions are made, the Department [of Defence] is prepared to execute them,” Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Iran later denied it had offered to send officials to Washington.

“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” Iran’s mission to the UN said in a post on X.

“The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s supreme leader.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also spoke to Al Jazeera about reports of a negotiating team dispatched to Oman and said: “This report is not true and Iran has not sent any negotiating team to Muscat.”

Israeli newspaper Haaretz had reported that three Iranian government planes, including the presidential plane, had landed in Oman for “reasons unknown”.

Meanwhile, Khamenei said: “This nation will not surrender to anyone in the face of imposition,” according to Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian leader also pointed out to statements made by Trump, saying that those who know Iran and its history “know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threat”.

“And the Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable consequences.”

Earlier, Iran claimed firing hypersonic missiles at Israel as Khamenei vowed his country would show “no mercy” to its longtime archfoe, hours after Trump demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” Khamenei posted on X, hours after Trump’s escalatory remarks.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, said his country had conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel’s military campaign.

Bahreini told reporters that he saw the US as “complicit in what Israel is doing”. Iran would set a red line, and respond if the US crosses it, he said, without specifying what actions would provoke a response.

“We will not show any reluctance in defending our people, security and land — we will respond seriously and strongly, without restraint,” Bahreini told reporters.

The Iranian envoy called Trump’s remarks “completely unwarranted and very hostile”. “We cannot ignore them. We are vigilant about what Trump is saying. We will put it in our calculations and assessments.”

“I am confident that [Iran’s military] will react strongly, proportionally and appropriately. We are closely following the level of involvement in the US […] We will react whenever it is needed,” he asserted.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said Iran had the “legitimate” right to defend itself in the face of Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign.

“It is a very natural, legitimate and legal right for Iran to defend itself against Israel’s thuggery and state terrorism,” the Turkish leader said, a day after he referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the biggest threat to the security of the region”.

The US has so far only taken indirect actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired toward Israel. It is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three US officials told Reuters.

Trump met with his National Security Council earlier today to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.

While he has repeatedly vowed to avoid wading into the “forever wars” of the Middle East, Trump ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft.

US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention, according to AFP.

Thomas Massie from Trump’s Republican Party said that he introduced an Iran War Powers Resolution with fellow lawmaker Ro Khanna to prohibit US involvement in the Israel-Iran war.

“This is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our constitution,” he said. Democratic Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greg Casar were among several lawmakers who voiced their support for the resolution.

The most likely option under consideration by Trump would be the use of giant US “bunker-buster” bombs against Iran’s deeply buried Fordow nuclear facility that Israel’s bombs cannot reach.

“Bunker buster” is a broad term used to describe bombs that can penetrate about 61 metres below the surface before exploding, according to the Associated Press. Therefore, the precision-guided bombs are used to attack “deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels”.

The BBC’s Frank Gardner termed it the “30,000lb question”; the US has them but Israel does not, he noted. The New York Times said Trump was also considering allowing US tanker aircraft to refuel Israeli combat jets so they could carry out long-range missions.

A large majority of Americans say the United States should not get involved in the fighting, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.

Sixty per cent of those surveyed say they do not support US involvement in the hostilities, while 16pc say they back it, according to Newsmax. The rest of 24pc said they were unsure whether they supported American military action.

Death toll in Iran rises to nearly 600: rights group

Washington-based group Human Rights Activists put the total death toll in Iran at 585 people, with 1,326 other wounded, Washington Post reported. The group added that it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel.

In its last update on Monday, Iran’s health ministry had said 224 Iranians had been killed and over 1,000 injured, most of them civilians.

So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel, more than 800 have been wounded and over 3,800 have been evacuated from their homes, CNN quoted a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as saying.

Iran has launched more than 400 missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel since Friday, the office said. It added that the strikes have hit 40 sites across Israel, resulting in nearly 19,000 damage claims submitted to the tax authority.

Israeli military strikes have hit two facilities in Iran that made parts for centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today, identifying them as the Tesa Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre.

“At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,” the IAEA said on X.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel.

“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the IRGC said in a statement carried by state television, claiming that Iranian forces “have gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories”.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.

Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area. The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv.

Israel told residents in the area of Tehran to evacuate so its air force could strike Iranian military installations.

Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to the IRGC in the country’s east, and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran, which was also targeted by Israeli airstrikes last October.

An Israeli military official claimed 50 fighter jets struck around 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported clashes earlier today between security forces and unidentified gunmen in the city of Rey, south of Tehran, adding the assailants may be linked to Israel and intended to carry out “terrorist operations in densely populated areas of the capital”.

The IRGC last night claimed hitting a “major centre” of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in Tel Aviv, Tasnim reported.

Iran’s police forces intercepted 14 drones and identified hostile drone-producing workshops and drone-carrying vehicles across various provinces, police spokesperson Saeed Montazerolmahdi said today, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.

On the other hand, Israel is running low on defensive “Arrow” missile interceptors, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed US official, raising concerns about the country’s ability to counter long-range ballistic missiles from Iran.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

A cyberattack yesterday crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran’s main state-owned banks, the Fars news agency reported.

With air raid sirens regularly screaming over Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.

“We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” 30-year-old Mali Papirany told AFP.

Iran also said it had detained five suspected Mossad agents on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.

“These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and Isna news agencies quoted a statement from the IRGC as saying.

They added that the arrests had been made in the western province of Lorestan.

France plans European ‘initiative’ to end Iran-Israel conflict

France is planning along with European partners to suggest a negotiated solution to end the conflict between Iran and Israel, the country’s presidency said after President Emmanuel Macron chaired a national security council meeting.

Macron at the meeting ordered Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to draw up in the coming days “an initiative with close European partners that would propose a demanding negotiated settlement to put an end to the conflict”, the presidency said in a statement, without giving details on the nature of the plan.

Macron urged Israel to end strikes on targets in Iran not linked to nuclear activities or ballistic missiles, his office said.

Addressing a national security council meeting, he “noted his concern over the current escalation, with Israeli strikes increasingly hitting targets not linked to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic programme, and a mounting number of civilian victims in Iran and Israel”, it said.

Macron said it was “necessary to urgently end these military operations, which pose significant threats to regional security”.

Evacuations from Iran, Israel continue

Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran on Wednesday after Trump said yesterday they should leave the capital, Reuters reported.

Authorities have placed limits on how much fuel can be purchased. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told state TV that restrictions were in place to prevent shortages but there would be no problem supplying fuel to the public.

Meanwhile, more countries started evacuating their nationals from Iran and Israel.

Britain said it was temporarily withdrawing the family members of staff who work at the country’s embassy and consulate in Israel due to the significant risks posed by the conflict.

“Family members of staff at the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the British consulate in Jerusalem have been temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure,” Britain’s foreign office said on its travel advice page for Israel.

“The embassy and consulate continue with essential work including services to British nationals,” it added.

The families of Russian diplomats left Israel as well, Russia’s ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov was quoted as saying by Times of Israel.

Over 770 Pakistani pilgrims and students have already returned home, as of Monday.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said 791 of its nationals “have been relocated from Iran to safe areas”, adding some Chinese nationals have also safely evacuated from Israel.

The first batch of Chinese citizens departed from Tehran via land route into Turkmenistan on Tuesday, according to China News Service.

The Japanese government has also started making arrangements to send a military plane to Djibouti as part of its effort to help Japanese nationals in Iran and Israel evacuate, commercial broadcaster Fuji Television Network said.

Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel, its foreign ministry said.

“The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,” the ministry said in a statement.

Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.

Flights took off for Israel today from Cyprus, ferrying home Israelis stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran, Reuters reported, citing airport sources and web flight tracking sites.

Israel’s airspace has been closed since the two countries began trading attacks on Friday, stranding tens of thousands whose flights to Tel Aviv were cancelled.

Israel announced special flights for the repatriation of its nationals on Tuesday. Its Transportation Ministry has said as many as 150,000 Israelis are abroad, with about a third trying to get home.

According to a report by Israeli publication Haaretz, the marina in Herzliya — a coastal town on the outskirts of Tel Aviv — and others like it in Haifa and Ashkelon, are now becoming gathering spots for many who want to leave Israel using flotillas.

Trump says ‘we now have total control’ of Iran skies

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump’s increasingly irate tone and choice of words indicated that the US was not far from intervening to support Israel, its closest ally in the region.

“We now have completely and total control of the skies over Iran,” he posted, prompting many to question what he meant by “we”.

The US president has maintained that his country is not involved in the Iran-Israel conflict yet, but threatened Iran with severe consequences if it targeted US troops and assets in the Middle East.

He then posted “unconditional surrender”, an apparent demand addressed at Tehran.

Trump also made a veiled threat against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying “we know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding … We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now”.

Trump’s sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close US ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy.

Reuters reported yesterday that the US military was deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes.

The deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft, and officials said had so far been used to shoot down drones and projectiles targeting Israel.

Four US Stratofortress bombers are currently stationed at a remote US base in the Indian Ocean, an AFP analysis of satellite imagery indicated. The four B52H bombers, which can carry nuclear weapons or other precision-guided munitions, were spotted on a southern tarmac at Diego Garcia on Monday at 2:22pm PKT.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also described the deployments as defensive in nature. A White House official said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Tuesday.

The US already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defence systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.

British PM Keir Starmer, speaking at the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada that Trump left early, said there was no indication the US was about to enter the conflict.

The US said that it will close its embassy in Jerusalem until Friday amid the growing military conflict between Israel and Iran, as speculation mounts about possible American intervention.

“Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the US Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20),” the embassy said in a statement posted on Tuesday to its website.

Regional influence weakens

Khamenei’s main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, hollowing out his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.

With Iranian leaders suffering their most dangerous security breach since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country’s cybersecurity command banned officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported.

State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy”.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.

Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment.

Before Israel’s attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.

However, a US intelligence assessment found that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon programme and was “years away from producing one”, a report from CNN released on Tuesday said.

The IAEA said on Tuesday that an Israeli strike directly hit the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility.

Israel says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in coming days. But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow, which is dug beneath a mountain, without the US joining the attack.

Global oil markets are on high alert following strikes on sites including the world’s biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.