Trump 'out of patience' as Iran's Khamenei rejects surrender call

Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran squandered the chance to make a deal over its nuclear enrichment, but declined to say whether the United States plans to join Israel's offensive aimed at destroying the program, even as Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the nation would never surrender and warned the US of "irreparable damage" if it intervenes.

- Agencies

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against arch-enemy Iran.

"I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.

Trump said Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations including a possible meeting at the White House but "it's very late to be talking," he said.

Iran had been in negotiations with the US over its nuclear program for weeks, and had a further meeting scheduled, when Israel attacked on Friday.

Trump's comments add a new layer of tension to the deepening Israel-Iran clash. The US has so far limited its participation to helping Israel defend itself against Iranian missile and drone launches.

"The Americans should know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender," Khamenei said in a statement published on his website on Wednesday. "Any military incursion by the United States will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for his "support in defending Israel's skies".

Trump said he encouraged Netanyahu to "keep going" with his offensive operations, adding that he gave the Israeli premier no indication that US forces would participate in the attacks.