Trump says US knows where Iran’s Khamenei is ‘hiding’ but won’t kill him – ‘for now’

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US “knows exactly” where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is “hiding,” but added that Washington had no immediate plans to target him, as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He continued: “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!”

Shortly afterward, Trump posted another message in all caps: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” – without offering further explanation.

Trump flew back early from the G7 summit in Canada late Monday as the conflict between Iran and key US ally Israel escalated, and was set to meet top officials in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.

The US president has so far stressed that his country is not getting involved in the conflict, and has said that Iran could still take a deal to end its nuclear program that he had proposed before Israel’s attacks.

But Trump has given mounting signals that Washington’s intervention in some form may now be imminent.

Trump said Tuesday that “we” have “complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” hailing the use of US-made weaponry without explicitly mentioning Israel.

Israel, the closest US ally in the Middle East, had recently made a similar claim.

Earlier, Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning from Canada that he wanted “a real end, not a ceasefire” to the Iran-Israel conflict, and warning that “I’m not in too much of a mood to negotiate.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said meanwhile that Khamenei could face the same fate as former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and hanged in 2006 after a trial.

“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens,” Katz told top Israeli military officials.

Explosions were later reported in Tehran and the city of Isfahan in central Iran, while Israel said Iran had fired more missiles towards it and air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and southern Israel.

Trump’s sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close US ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to both domestic and foreign policy.

Trump had predicted earlier on Monday that Israel would not be easing its attacks on Iran. But he also said he might send US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet Iranian officials.

Trump had said his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada had “nothing to do” with working on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, and that something “much bigger” was expected.

Vance said the decision on whether to take further action to end Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb, “ultimately belongs to the president.” Britain’s leader said there was no indication that the US was about to enter the conflict.

Trump was meeting with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said.

Khamenei’s main military and security advisors have been killed by Israeli strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, Reuters reported, citing five people familiar with his decision-making process.

The Israeli military said Iran’s military leadership was “on the run” and that it had killed Iranian commander Ali Shadmani overnight, four days after he replaced another top commander killed in the strikes.

With Iranian leaders suffering their most dangerous security breach since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country’s cyber security command banned officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported.

Israel launched a “massive cyber war” against Iran’s digital infrastructure, Iranian media reported.

Ever since the Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war, Khamenei’s regional influence has been weakening as Israel has pounded Iran’s proxies – from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq. And Iran’s close ally, Syria’s autocratic president Bashar al-Assad, has been ousted.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment.

Before Israel’s attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.

The IAEA said on Tuesday there were indications of direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility, and that there was no change to report at the Fordow and Isfahan sites.

Israel’s Katz said the Iranian nuclear installation at Fordow, where an enrichment site is dug deep into a mountain, was an issue that will “of course” be addressed.

Israel says it now has control of Iranian air space and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days.

But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow without the US joining the attack, according to analysis echoed on Tuesday by Germany’s leader.

Iran has so far fired nearly 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel, with about 35 missiles penetrating Israel’s defensive shield and making impact, Israeli officials say.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had hit Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate and foreign intelligence service Mossad’s operational center early on Tuesday. There was no Israeli confirmation.

Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or fled.

World oil markets are on high alert, following strikes on energy sites including the world’s biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.