Former CIA Director David Petraeus said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” that President Donald Trump’s current “offer” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be “an ultimatum” that makes Iran agree to a deal with “no negotiations.”
Following Israel’s launching of preemptive strikes on dozens of Iranian military targets, questions have circulated regarding whether the U.S. will officially become involved in the war between the two foreign countries. After playing a clip of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the U.S. has plans for all options involving Iran, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the former director what he believes “those plans might be specifically.”
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“Well, there’s going to be a range of plans here, although I tend to think that while there might be some for boots on the ground, that that would not be an option that the president would approve,” Petraeus said.
“He is very clear on that. I also don’t think that any kind of conventional military presence from Israel would feature large in that. The real question going forward is if the Supreme Leader rejects, denies as defiantly as he did today, the president’s offer,” Petraeus added.
Tensions peaked Thursday between Israel and Iran after Israel launched the initial strikes, killing Iran’s top military officials and significantly damaging their nuclear weapons program. Almost immediately after reports of the strikes surfaced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not involved in the incident.
READ: Israeli Defense Minister Warns Khamenei Of “Saddam Hussein” Fate Amid Escalating Tensions
On Friday, however, Trump said that while the U.S. was not involved in the attack, he was aware of plans prior to the strike.
Reports on Monday indicated Iran was open to renegotiating with Israel. But according to state media on Wednesday, Khamenei released a statement saying Iran “cannot be surrendered,” according to The New York Times.
“By the way, the president now, this should be an ultimatum. ‘You are going to agree, no negotiations to give up all of your nuclear infrastructure and allow the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to have free rein in inspecting and overseeing the dismantlement of your nuclear infrastructure. If you don’t do that, then that’s your last chance,’” Petraeus said.
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“That would be where he would take the decision to augment the Israeli effort by taking out the Fordow nuclear enrichment facility and also a storage site for the highly enriched uranium,” Petraeus said.
The statement from Khamenei comes a day after Trump took to Truth Social to call out Iran’s supreme leader, warning that not only do U.S. officials know his location but they are refraining from killing him “for now.”
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Reports have indicated that the U.S. could potentially join Israel in air strikes against Iran to further eliminate their nuclear weapons program. Trump wrote Tuesday on his Truth Social that “unconditional surrender” is the goal, telling Fox News Wednesday that it is his demand to end the conflict.
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