(JTA) — Israeli forces continued striking targets in Tehran on Tuesday, the fifth day of Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear program and the regime committed to developing nuclear weapons.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an international resolution in support of de-escalation on Monday, after initially indicating that he might not. But he also made multiple comments that stoked fear in Iran and speculation that the United States could join the conflict.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,” Trump posted Monday on his social media site as he left the G7 summit in Canada. “Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Trump subsequently rejected the French president’s suggestion that he had left the meeting early to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Iran, telling reporters that he was working on something “much bigger than that.”
On Tuesday, Trump posted on his social media site that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and called for its “unconditional surrender.”
His comments fueled speculation that the United States could join in Israel’s campaign against Iran, as is believed to be needed to effectively destroy an Iranian nuclear facility known as Fordo. But other U.S. officials sought to tamp down that idea, saying they committed to only a defensive involvement of U.S. troops and weapons.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, said they had killed the man who replaced the Iranian military leader assassinated on Friday and would continue their campaign until Iran has given up its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, could be a target. Khameini and his regime have vowed to destroy Israel by any means necessary.
After several days of deadly missile strikes, Israel had a relatively quiet night overnight Monday, with sirens sending Israelis to shelters but relatively few impacts and only light injuries reported in one city, Herzliya, to people who had not sought shelter. But Iran has vowed additional responses and, with its missile infrastructure damaged, reportedly is considering other tactics, including interrupting shipping and staging terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad.
Meanwhile German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed gratitude about Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear program.
“This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us,” Merz, who took office earlier this year, told the German broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday from Canada, where he is participating in the G7 summit.
Merz had made headlines with his sharp criticism of Israel’s operations in Gaza earlier this month, a rarity for both a German leader and a center-right one. But as with several other European allies who were pressuring Israel to end its Gaza campaign, he has offered full-throated support of Israel’s right to self-defense since the Iran conflict began.
Now, he is going further, saying that he is glad Israel has taken on an adversary that posed risk for Germany and other countries. He said he believed Iran’s regime had been significantly and permanently weakened.
“I can only say I have the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli government had the courage to do this,” Merz said.
Merz also said he believed the United States had not made a final decision about whether to get involved militarily.