‘I like to decide at the last second': Trump continues to mull US strike but suggests Iran could visit White House

18 June 2025, 21:56 | Updated: 19 June 2025, 00:43

Donald Trump has kept the door open to either a US attack on Iran or a negotiated deal, saying the US 'doesn't want to fight' in another cryptic message to Tehran.

The US president said he's 'not looking to fight' Iran, but warned that the US wants 'total, complete victory' over the country.

As the world fears Trump will join Israel's war against Iran, the leader of the world's most powerful military remained cryptic about his next move, saying he likes 'to make decisions at the last second'.

While repeating his claim that Iran 'should have made a deal' and that it is 'too late to meet,' Trump suggested the US could still hold diplomatic talks with Tehran.

"They want to meet and they want to come to the White House," he told reporters at the Oval Office.

He added: "They'll even come to the White House. So we'll see. I may do that. But it's a shame it wasn't. (It) could have been done the easy way."

Iran has denied reaching out to White House, as the supreme leader insists his country will never surrender in its war against Israel.

"I'm not looking to fight. But if it's a choice between fighting and them having a nuclear weapon...you have to do what you have to do," Trump said.

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"Maybe we won't have to fight. Don't forget, we haven't been fighting. We add a certain amount of genius to everything, but we haven't been fighting at all," he added.

"Israel's done a very good job of that, but we'll see what happens. The bottom line is they can't have nuclear."

Israel began striking Iran last week, saying the Iranian regime was close to developing a nuclear weapon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been claiming Iran is on the verge of creating a nuclear bomb for decades, which Tehran has strictly denied.

Intelligence assessments - including from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - also have found no evidence yet that Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons.

Israel, meanwhile, has owned nuclear weapons since the 1960s, does not allow IAEA inspections, and is not signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Iran is.

Regardless, Israel began striking the country under the pretext that Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon - which the US agrees with.

"You may have to fight and maybe it'll end, and maybe it'll end very quickly, but there is no way that you can allow (Iran to have nuclear)," the US president said.

"Whether you have to fight or not, you can't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, because the entire world will blow up. Not going to let that happen."

Echoing Netanyahu's stated goal in Israel's war on Gaza, he added: "We're looking for a total, complete victory. Again, you know what the victory is? No nuclear weapon."

If the US does decide to go ahead with strikes, it could seek to use the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, which the UK would reportedly need to sign off on.

Under the recently agreed deal to hand back the Chagos Islands, the UK leases the base from Mauritius, while the US pays for its operating costs.

Sir Keir had played down the prospect of US intervention, telling reporters at the G7 that "nothing" he had heard from the president suggested Washington was poised to get involved.

Asked whether the Prime Minister was confident that Mr Trump would not involve US forces in the conflict, a Number 10 spokesman on Wednesday said the UK's position was still that "we want to de-escalate rather than escalate".

Iran's mission to the UN has responded to claims made by Trump suggesting Tehran has reached out to Washington.

"No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House," it said in a written statement.

"The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader."

Trump had previously suggested Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an 'easy target' and that the US could easily 'take him out'.

The statement added: "Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.

"Iran shall respond to any threat with a counter-threat, and to any action with reciprocal measures."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel has made a 'huge mistake' by attacking Iran.

He said "any US military intervention will undoubtedly cause irreparable damage", slamming Donald Trump's "threatening and ridiculous statements."

It comes as Trump has called for the "unconditional surrender" of Iran - warning the US could join Israel's war in the Middle East.

Speaking with LBC on Wednesday, Lord Robertson warned that "Iran already think we're the enemy" where the UK is concerned, as tensions heighten between Israel and Iran.

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One possible location the US President is considering striking is Fordow, an underground nuclear site which Iran allegedly uses to enrich uranium.

The site is believed to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme, according to sources who spoke to CBS, which include senior US officials.

Fordow is located almost 300 feet underground inside a mountain, and is protected by heavy fortifications and air defences.

Experts believe it is where Iran has been enriching uranium for weapons purposes, which hasn't yet been proven.

Russia has joined Iran in warning the US off joining Israel's war.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, said: "This would be a step that would radically destabilise the entire situation."

Speaking from the G7 in Canada on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted British people should not feel unsafe with President Donald Trump in the White House amid fears over conflict in the Middle East.

Reports suggest around 40 additional US air force jets have now arrived in the UK and Europe, comprising of stealth fighter bombers and air to air refuellers amid escalating tensions with Iran.

It comes as two unnamed US officials told Reuters on Monday that the jets were there “to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel.”