President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” although it was unclear if he meant that the U.S. military was directly involved in the conflict.
The White House declined to clarify if the president’s “we” was referring directly to the United States or simply Israel using U.S.-made equipment. Adding to the confusion, Politico reported that the “we” in Trump’s message referred to the U.S., although the reporter subsequently retracted that report.
Trump’s comments come as reports of an imminent American entrance to the Israel-Iran war have picked up steam.
In a second Truth Social post, Trump threatened Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.”
Trump continued, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
A third post simply said in all caps, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
The president’s comments came after he cut short his trip to the Group of 7 summit in Canada this week. Trump had been scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., early Wednesday morning, but opted to fly back early Tuesday instead.
White House officials say the president plans to convene a meeting of his National Security Council in the Situation Room on Tuesday.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff,’” the president wrote late Tuesday morning. “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
TRUMP WARNS IRAN NOT TO ATTACK US TROOPS UPON EARLY RETURN TO DC
Vice President JD Vance said in a statement Tuesday morning that Trump “may decide he needs to take further action” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israeli government officials claim that their offensive against Tehran, launched late last week, is in response to intelligence suggesting that Iran has recently made a nuclear weapons breakthrough.
“That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy,” Vance wrote. “But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.”