Will Trump order US strikes in Iran?

The United States is stepping up its military presence in the Middle East as the war between Israel and Iran intensifies. The US military has deployed new fighter jets and extended the stationing of others. By President Trump’s own admission, the US is now fully involved in the conflict. The aircraft involved include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighters, a US military official told L’Orient Le Jour. Two other sources confirmed that these deployments would be used in particular to intercept drones and projectiles.

The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed on X on Monday that “additional capabilities” had been deployed to “enhance the US posture in the region”.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump left the G7 summit in Canada prematurely, due to the intensification of the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The American president said it was not “in order to work on a ‘ceasefire’ between Israel and Iran”, contrary to what his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, had said.

“I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate with Iran. We have better things to do than a ceasefire,”he told reporters. To answer what he meant by “better”, the American president added: “An end, a real end. Giving up entirely – that’s good too”.

In an interview with ABC News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke of “an end to the conflict”, with the possibility of a targeted assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Trump later clarified that he had no intention of eliminating Iran’s supreme leader… for the time being.

Trump also said on Truth Social that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran”.

This coincides with statements by Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, who urged Tehran residents to flee the capital immediately. He also warned of imminent strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, notably the Fordo underground site.

Tehranis are in the midst of an exodus, seeking refuge mainly in northern Iran, particularly in the Caspian Sea region. Traffic jams are blocking the main exits from the capital.

America’s oldest aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, has been diverted from the South China Sea to the Middle East. So there are now two US aircraft carriers in the region.

Some thirty tanker aircraft have also been dispatched from the USA to the Middle East.

According to Euronews, other tanker aircraft are also strategically positioned at Ramstein (Germany), Aviano (Italy) and Chania-Souda (Crete), reinforcing the logistical capabilities of the US Air Force in the region.

According to Politico, last week the Pentagon ordered two destroyers in the Mediterranean to move closer to Israel to help protect US assets in the region. Israel has also used US air defense systems to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting its civilian infrastructure.

The European Union’s head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, expressed deep concern at the growing involvement of the US. “When it comes to the United States getting involved, then it will definitely drag the region into broader conflict. And this is in nobody’s interest”, she stressed during an emergency video conference with the foreign ministers of the 27 member states.