Speaking as he watched installation of a new flagpole at the White House, Trump added that his patience “had already run out” with Iran and repeated his call for the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender.”

“I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn when asked if he had decided whether to launch US air strikes.

“I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”

Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House to negotiate on Tehran’s nuclear programme to end Israel’s air assault, but added that it was “very late.”

“I said it’s very late to be talking. We may meet. There’s a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference,” Trump added.

“They’ve suggested that they come to the White House. That’s, you know, courageous, but it’s, like, not easy for them to do.”

Asked what he meant when he called in a social media post on Tuesday for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”, Trump again suggested that his patience had run out with Iran.

“It’s very simple – unconditional surrender. That means I’ve had it, okay? I’ve had it. I give up, no more, we go and blow up all the nuclear stuff that’s all over the place,” Trump said.

Trump compared Iran to “schoolyard bullies”, adding: “And now they’re not bullies any more, but we’ll see what happens.”

When asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: “Nothing is too late.”