Trump says he's 'not looking for a fight' with Iran but stands ready to
act if necessary
[June 19, 2025]
By AAMER MADHANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he doesn't want
to carry out a U.S. strike on Iran but suggested he stands ready to act
if it's necessary to extinguish Iran's nuclear program.
Trump continued his increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining
Israel in striking at Tehran's nuclear program as Iran's leader warned
anew that the United States would be greeted with stiff retaliation if
it attacks.
The stakes are high for Trump — and the world — as he engages in a
push-pull debate between his goals of avoiding dragging the U.S. into
another war and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“I’m not looking to fight," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"But if it’s a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you
have to do what you have to do.”
Trump pondered his next steps as the U.S. embassy in Israel began
evacuating a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to
leave Israel.
Meanwhile, senior European diplomats are set to hold talks with Iran in
Geneva on Friday, according to a European official familiar with the
matter.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested
anonymity, said the high-ranking diplomats from Germany, France and the
United Kingdom as well as the European Union’s top diplomat will take
part in the talks.
Trump, who met with his national security aides for a second straight
day in the White House Situation Room, also told reporters it’s not “too
late” for Iran to give up its nuclear program.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said of a potential U.S. strike.
“I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
“Nothing is finished until it is finished,” he added, signaling a
decision could soon. “The next week is going to be very big — maybe less
than a week."
No surrender from Iran
Trump also offered a terse response to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei's refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an
unconditional surrender.
“I say good luck,” Trump said.
Khamenei earlier in the day warned that any U.S. strikes targeting the
Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them” and that
his country would not bow to Trump’s call for surrender.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers that the Pentagon was
providing possible options to Trump as he decides next steps on Iran.
Trump had said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Khamenei is hiding but
doesn’t want him killed — “for now.”
“He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him
out (kill!), at least not for now," Trump said.
Trump’s increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government
follow him urging Tehran’s 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives
as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier
this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national
security team.
Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White
House as they’re “getting the hell beaten out of them” by Israel. But he
added there's a “big difference between now and a week ago" in Tehran's
negotiating position.
“They’ve suggested that they come to the White House — that’s, you know,
courageous,” Trump said.
Iran's mission to the United Nations rejected Trump's claim in a
statement on social media. “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel
at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his
lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader. ”
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump speaks as a flag pole is installed on the
South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Enter Putin
The U.S. president said earlier this week Russian President Vladimir
Putin offered to serve as a mediator with Iran. But Trump said he
told Putin to keep focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict
with Ukraine.
“I said, ‘Do me a favor, mediate your own,’” Trump said he told
Putin. “I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry
about this later.’”
The comments represented a shift for Trump, who earlier this week
said he was “open” to Putin's offer to mediate.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier
Wednesday that Moscow has cautioned Washington against offering
direct military assistance to Israel.
“We are warning Washington against even speculative, hypothetical
considerations of the sort,” Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax
news agency. “That would be a step drastically destabilizing the
situation as a whole.”
The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Putin launched a war
on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with
drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to U.S.
intelligence findings.
MAGA allies raise questions
Trump is also facing growing skepticism about deepening U.S.
involvement in the Mideast crisis from some of his most ardent
supporters. Trump during his 2024 run for the White House promised
voters he would quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and keep
the U.S. out of costly conflicts.
Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump during his
first administration, said the administration should tread
carefully.
“This is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, ok?"
Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science
Monitor. "With 92 million people. This is not something you play
around with. You have to think this through. And the American people
have to be on board. You can’t just dump it on them.”
Bannon and other Trump allies, including Turning Point USA's Charlie
Kirk and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, have raised concerns
that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict could be seen as a
betrayal to some members of Trump's coalition and cause a schism in
MAGA world.
To be certain, some Trump backers are supportive of the president
taking military action against Iran and play down the risk of the
U.S. getting mired in a conflict.
“In terms of U.S. involvement in military action, there is zero
possibility of American boots on the ground in Iran,” Sen. Ted Cruz,
R-Texas, said.
Trump pushed back at the notion that deepening U.S. involvement
could impact his standing with his base.
“My supporters are more in love with me today, and I’m in love with
them more than they were even at election time when we had a total
landslide,” Trump said.
___
Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Tara Copp, David Klepper,
Matthew Lee, Chris Megerian and Darlene Superville contributed
reporting.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
