Trump still pondering to strike Iran

US President Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to carry out a U.S. strike on Iran but suggested he stands ready to act if it’s necessary to extinguish Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump continued his increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining Israel in striking at Tehran’s nuclear program as Iran’s leader warned anew that the United States would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it attacks.

The stakes are high for Trump — and the world — as he engages in a push-pull debate between his goals of avoiding dragging the U.S. into another war and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“I’m not looking to fight,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “But if it’s a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.”

Trump pondered his next steps as the U.S. embassy in Israel began evacuating a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave Israel.

He had previously urged Iran to surrender unconditionally but this was rejected outright by Iran.