![Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, CEO of Gavi Alliance. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter handle of Atiku Abubakar]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/02/Dr-Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1)
US President Donald Trump has said the US knows where Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is hiding but doesn’t want to kill him yet.
He made the declaration in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, as the Israel-Iran crisis entered its fifth day.
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He called for an “unconditional surrender” from Iran, while describing Iran’s supreme leader as an easy target.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” he wrote. “He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
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This comes after his previous call for Iranians to evacuate Tehran. A call the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had also made, but which has been largely ignored in Iran.
Despite Mr Trump’s claim, Iran has continued retaliatory attacks on Israel and fired fresh missiles on Tuesday night. Also on Tuesday night, Iran’s military chief, Abdolrahim Mousavi, asked residents of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate, warning of imminent ‘punitive’ attacks.
The Israel-Iran war began last Friday when Israel launched what it called a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The attack, which was condemned by many countries, including Nigeria, came just two days before Iran was due to resume nuclear talks with the US. Tehran has since pulled out of the talks.
In response, Iran fired drones and ballistic missiles, and both sides have continued to exchange attacks despite growing calls from the international community to de-escalate. Over 200 Iranians have been killed in Israeli attacks, while at least 24 Israelis have been killed in Iranian attacks.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Araghchi, hinted that the country is open to negotiation.
Mr Araghchi stated that if Mr Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”
“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy,” he said.
Iran and Israel have both inflicted significant damage on each other. However, Israel believes it is close to delivering a decisive blow to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
On Monday, the Israeli military spokesperson, Effie Defrin, boasted that the country’s forces had “achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies.”
Also, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel had succeeded in setting Iran’s nuclear programme back a “very, very long time.”
However, many people believe the Israeli leader is mounting pressure on Mr Trump to drag the US into the war, amidst reports that Israel is running out of supplies for its missile defence. The Washington Post report quotes a US security source as saying Israel’s current stockpile can only maintain its missile defence for 10 to 20 days without being restocked by the US.
“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” the source said. “The system is already overwhelmed.”
READ ALSO: In strong message, China condemns Israel for attacking Iran
Although Israel is believed to have one of the most advanced missile defence systems in the world, the system has been overwhelmed and has failed to stop scores of Iranian missiles from landing in Israeli territory, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens of others while damaging civilian and military infrastructure.
Amidst pressure on the US to get involved on Israel’s side, President Trump warned that the US could get involved if more Israeli civilians are killed, deviating from his earlier warning that the US would only intervene if Americans and American assets are attacked.
However, any deeper US involvement could be a political risk for Mr Trump, who has positioned himself as a harbinger of peace and has criticised past US presidents for going into wars in the Middle East.
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