Trump continued his increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining Israel in striking at Iran'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 as he faces 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 earlier on Wednesday told reporters that it’s not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear program.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said in another exchange with reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
“Nothing is finished until it is finished,” Trump added. But “the next week is going to be very big— maybe less than a week."
Trump also offered a terse response to Iran 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 Wednesday warned that any United States 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.
