Banff, Canada: US President Donald Trump has demanded “unconditional surrender” from Iran as its conflict with Israel escalates and tensions grow within Trump’s Republican Party about whether the world’s most powerful military should become directly involved in yet another Middle East theatre of war.

Iran and Israel exchanged missiles again in the early hours of Wednesday, and Israeli warplanes hit targets in Tehran, as Trump met with his National Security Council in the Situation Room to discuss how the US should respond. The White House confirmed Trump had also spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but would not divulge details of the call – and Trump, unusually, refrained from posting about it on social media.

Many of Trump’s MAGA supporters hold staunchly isolationist views on foreign policy and oppose another US mission in the Middle East. But some hawkish Republicans are putting pressure on Trump to step in and unleash so-called “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordow, which experts say could quickly enrich uranium from 60 per cent to a weapons-grade 90 per cent. If Trump agrees to that, however, it would directly involve the US in the conflict for the first time.

The president and his advisers met for 90 minutes in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday AEST), with US broadcaster CBS reporting the group went into the meeting divided on the path forward.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff were seen leaving the White House after the meeting, as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, and other US military leaders.

But despite mounting speculation the US will step up its involvement in the conflict, the White House gave no update throughout Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) other than to acknowledge the national security meeting and the phone call with Netanyahu.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News he had spoken to Trump and suggested the president “believes [Iran’s] nuclear program cannot be ended through diplomacy”.

“They need our help, Israel does, to take out Fordow,” Graham told Fox. “I’m hoping the president will provide Israel the help they need to finish the job of the last nuclear site underground. If we accomplish destroying the Iranian nuclear program, it will be historic for the region and historic for the world.”