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Trump says his patience has run out, Iran is totally

defenceless

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Khamenei rejects call for unconditional surrender

By Parisa Hafezi, Jana Choukeir and Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI/JERUSALEM, June 18 (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme

Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Donald Trump's demand for

unconditional surrender on Wednesday, and the U.S. president

said his patience had run out, though he gave no clue as to what

his next step would be.

Speaking to reporters, Trump declined to say whether he had

made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign

against the Islamic Republic. The Iranians had reached out but

"it's very late to be talking", he said.

"There's a big difference between now and a week ago," Trump

told reporters outside the White House. "Nobody knows what I'm

going to do."

Iranians jammed the highways out of the capital Tehran

fleeing from intensified Israeli airstrikes.

In the latest bombing, Israel said its air force destroyed

the headquarters of Iran's internal security service.

"As we promised - we will continue to strike at symbols

of governance and hit the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be,"

Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on

television, his first appearance since Friday.

The Americans "should know that any U.S. military

intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable

damage," he said. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian

nation and its history will never speak to this nation in

threatening language because the Iranian nation will not

surrender."

Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end

to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In

social media posts on Tuesday he mused about killing Khamenei,

then demanded Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and

his team were considering options that included joining Israel

in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets struck around 20

targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw

materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.

The military told Iranians to leave parts of the capital for

their own safety while it struck targets.