President Trump revealed Tuesday that the United States knows “exactly” where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding and described him as an “easy target.” The president made clear he won’t order an assassination “for now” as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “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!”
The president’s remarks came as he convened an 80-minute Situation Room meeting in the West Wing with Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard to consider a possible U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Trump, who has campaigned repeatedly on avoiding endless Mideast wars, now faces a momentous decision on whether to back Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites with direct American force. According to officials close to the Pentagon, Trump alone will make the final call, with some aides estimating an 80% chance that airstrikes are imminent.
Sources say Trump’s military team believes they now have a rare “strategic window of opportunity” to help Israel fully dismantle Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has bombed key sites with U.S.-made munitions in recent days but may need America’s heavier “bunker buster” bombs to finish the job.
In a series of posts, Trump declared, “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.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
Returning to Washington, DC, early from the G7 summit in Canada due to the crisis, Trump told reporters he is no longer interested in negotiations with Tehran’s regime and demanded its surrender. “An end. A real end. Not a ceasefire — an end,” Trump said when pressed on what he wants. On Truth Social, he posted in all caps: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Meanwhile, opposition voices in Iran claim Khamenei has gone into hiding deep underground as the regime struggles to defend against Israel’s air assault.
Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last Shah, called on Iranians to rise up and topple the Islamic Republic once and for all, declaring in a video that the regime is collapsing and “all it takes now is a nationwide uprising.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that he would not rule out taking out Khamenei if necessary. Trump, who ordered the killing of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020, so far appears to be holding back a similar strike.
As the White House weighs its next steps, Trump’s message to Iran is clear: the regime must abandon its nuclear ambitions or face the full force of American power.