WASHINGTON—As the world holds its breath, anticipating U.S. President Donald Trump’s next move on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he turned attention to a different front, installing two massive American flags, one on each side of the White House, part of a plan he first announced in April.

At a White House ceremony on the afternoon of June 18, Trump saluted as a giant American flag was raised high into the sky, while friends and family around him cheered.

He then turned to the press and shouted, “How do you like it, everybody?”

In a Truth Social post last night, the president said he would install two flagpoles, one on the North Lawn and one on the South Lawn, calling them “the most magnificent poles made.”

The project to install nearly 100-foot-tall flagpoles was scheduled to begin on June 18 at 7:30 a.m. (EST), followed by the flag raising about 11 a.m., he said.

As planned, the president appeared on the South Lawn on the morning of June 18, dressed in a blue suit and his signature white “Make America Great Again” cap.

“This is about the largest you’ll ever see,” Trump told reporters. “These are the best poles anywhere in the country, in the world actually.”

He also praised the workers installing the flags.

“I don’t know them, but I love them, and I would bet that they all voted for Trump.”

During the event, Trump shifted focus to foreign policy, fielding questions about the ongoing Iran–Israel conflict, now in its sixth day.

When asked whether he was moving closer to striking Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump said: “I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.

“Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”

On April 23, Trump announced his intention to place large American flags on both sides of the White House, saying he would personally cover the costs.

Trump told reporters that each flagpole cost him approximately $50,000.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 17.

“It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place.”

The president has featured the Star-Spangled Banner throughout his first term and presidential campaigns.

A massive American flag was captured in iconic photos of Trump raising his fist moments after surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year.

He also installed a 15-foot-tall by 25-foot-long American flag at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach in 2006.

In April, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump is a hands-on leader with a keen eye for property management.

“The president is a real estate developer at heart, and he’s always looking for ways to improve the White House complex, not for him, but for future generations, for future presidents,” she said.

Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.