Trump's Tehran threat hints at impending US role in Israel's war on Iran

US President Donald Trump has threatened to join Israel in its war against Iran, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "no mercy" in Tehran's retaliation.

The two nations continued striking each other in a conflict that has spanned six days, with Trump demanding Iran’s "unconditional surrender".

The US leader also levelled threats at the country's leader, saying he will not kill him "for now", after holding a meeting with his national security team for 90 minutes on Tuesday, where they discussed recent escalations.

Experts have voiced concerns that Trump's comments on social media could be an indication that he was edging towards joining Israel in its offensive, with the US leader stating his "patience is wearing thin" with Iran, as well as other comments which may be hard to come back from.

Despite concerns, the US has so far confirmed that the White House would not be joining Israel's attacks on Iran, following a call on Tuesday between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

This comes as Israel continued striking various targets in Iran overnight, including a centrifuge and weapons facilities sites.

However, Israel is reportedly starting to run low on defensive Arrow interceptors, which could affect the country's ability to shoot down long-range ballistic missiles from Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An anonymous US official told the publication that Washington has been aware of this issue for months and has been augmenting Israeli defence systems.

The latest developments come as the majority of Americans are against US strikes on Iran.

A new YouGov/The Economist poll carried out on 13 to 16 June found that 53 percent of Trump voters said the US should refrain from joining the war, while 19 percent said the US army should. 

The poll results also revealed that 63 percent of Trump voters said the US should "engage in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme".

Last month, another poll carried out by the SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus from 2 to 5 May also showed that a majority of Americans favoured a negotiated agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear programme. Only 14 percent of the over 1,000 respondents said they preferred the US to take military action to inhibit or destroy Iran's nuclear programme.

According to reports, the US has moved more fighter jets to the Middle East and expanded the deployment of warplanes already in the region.

According to Reuters, this comes after more than a dozen KC-135R and KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft were sent to Europe from the US with the deployment of F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighter jets also confirmed.

The War Zone also reported that F-22 jets could arrive in the Middle East from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The F-35 jets are believed to be coming either from the Vermont Air National Guard or the Royal Air Force base in England.

Iranian response

Iran responded with retaliatory strikes overnight, triggering sirens in Israel and causing panic in some cities.

Israeli media reported overnight that several Iranian missiles fell in Israel as they failed to be intercepted, causing fires and damage to a building.

The Israeli ministry of health said 94 Israelis have been treated for injuries from the overnight strikes.

According to reports, the locations that sustained direct impact are not clear, as the Israeli military has censored reporting on the targets and level of damage done.

However, various reports state that the scale of Iran’s attacks on Israel has lessened in recent days.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they had used hypersonic ballistic missiles in the attack for the first time; however, there were no casualties recorded.

In a statement, they added that the first-generation hypersonic Fattah ballistic missiles "conveyed a message of power to Tel Aviv’s warmongering ally", referring to Trump.

The statement also said: "The powerful and highly maneuverable Fattah missiles this evening repeatedly shook the shelters of the cowardly Zionists after penetrating their defensive shield. Tonight’s missile attack proved that we have established complete control over the airspace of the occupied territories, and that their residents are now defenseless against Iranian missile attacks."

Iranian state TV went on to report that their air defence forces, early on Wednesday, shot down an advanced Hermes drone in central Isfahan province.

Since the recent spike in tensions, Iran’s president held a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace early on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments.

Many Iranians have been forced to leave their homes, as the Israeli army issued a forced evacuation order for residents of Tehran’s District Eighteen.

Elsewhere in Tehran, some residents have stayed behind and are continuing their lives as normal, despite the continued threat of strikes, while others are unable to leave the city due to medical conditions or transportation issues.

The death toll from Israel’s attacks on Iran has reached over 240, including at least 70 women and children. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed in retaliatory Iranian attacks.