MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT: TRIGGER WARNING

TRUMP MULLS JOINING ATTACKS

- BY CHRIS HUGHES Defence and Security Editor and CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN US Editor

IRAN has defied US warnings to accept “unconditional surrender” as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened “irreparable damage” to America.

The war of words came as Israel continued blistering strikes on Iran's nuclear research bases and military sites across the country.

America’s war machine is building up a huge presence in the Middle East, with squadrons of warplanes touching down in Saudi Arabia and other locations.

US President Donald Trump said he had not yet decided whether the US military should join Israel's attacks, believing it was not too late to reach a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. He said: “I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do.”

Asked if he believed it was too late to negotiate a deal to halt Iran’s nuclear programme, which he wants the Iranian government to abandon completely, he said: “Nothing's too late.”

He then claimed Iran had sought talks and even suggested sending a delegation to negotiate at the White House.

Intelligence sources suggested Khamenei’s regime is looking increasingly unstable, with covert Israel-backed dissidents trying to trigger regime change.