Iran’s Leader Stays Defiant as Trump Weighs Intervention
June 18, 2025
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4:30Now PlayingIran’s Leader Stays Defiant as Trump Weighs Intervention
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as posted by the channelJoumanna Bercetche, host of Bloomberg Horizons in Dubai, discusses the conflict between Israel and Iran and how it's impacting the Middle East more broadly.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected President Donald Trump’s demands for complete capitulation and predicted “irreparable damage” if the US joins Israel in bombarding his country.
“The Americans should know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website on Wednesday. “Any military incursion by the United States will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”
The defiant tone lays the ground for a potential showdown between Iran and the US, after White House diplomatic maneuvering and a series of Trump social media posts appeared to indicate the US leader is considering joining the war.
If the US were to approve direct military action alongside Israel — a decision that could come to define Trump’s presidency — it would greatly improve the chances of permanently ending Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon — but risk throwing the oil-rich region into widespread conflict.
Strikes between Israel and Iran continued into a sixth day. The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel overnight and intercepted most of them. Early on Wednesday, the IDF said it hit a facility that made centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to see no indication of significant damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
More than 200 people have been killed in Iran by the Israeli strikes, according to the last official tally from the Iranian government. In Israel, the government has said 24 people have been killed — unchanged for the second day — and more than 800 injured.
US weapons are seen as crucial to achieving a more complete destruction of the Islamic Republic’s atomic program — the stated objective of Israel’s assault that began late last week. Yet while the US is Israel’s closest defense partner and arms supplier, Trump has so far resisted calls from some political allies to join in strikes against Iran.
Israel wants US participation, both for its military prowess — bunker busting bombs and B-2 aircraft — and for the advantage of having the world’s most powerful state by its side. But officials have been wary of directly asking for Washington’s help, seeking to avoid push-back from within the Republican Party.
Asked on Channel 12 Tuesday evening about the US joining the operation, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israel has been conferring with the US but hasn’t urged its involvement.
Israel planned the operation without US assistance and could do it alone, if necessary, said two senior Israeli officials who asked not to be identified when discussing sensitive matters. One of the officials added Israel has already done most of the hard work by eliminating the bulk of Iran’s missile-defense systems and damaging the Natanz nuclear facility, allowing the US to gain a major security advantage without putting boots on ground.
US futures were little changed on Wednesday, with traders partially turning their focus to a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision. Oil prices edged 0.4% higher, with Brent below $77 a barrel.
Long-standing tensions between Iran and Israel erupted into open fighting last week, when Israel carried out surprise attacks on Iranian military and nuclear sites and killed senior commanders and atomic scientists. Since then, it has achieved air superiority over much of Iran, allowing it to bomb major cities and infrastructure at will.
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