President Donald Trump may be focused on diplomacy with Iran at the moment, but Israel is still contemplating military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters reports this morning. Reuters story is, that while Trump told Prime Minister Netanyahu in a White House meeting earlier this month, that Washington wanted to prioritize diplomatic talks with Tehran, and so he was unwilling to support a strike on the country’s nuclear facilities in the short term, as per April 16 coverage in the New York Times, Israeli officials now believe that their military could instead launch a limited strike on Iran that would require less U.S. support. Such an attack would be significantly smaller than those Israel initially proposed (it would also cause less damage, but still stir up a hornet’s nest of destabilizing consequences, which may be the Israeli aim). It is unclear if, or when, Israel would move forward with such a strike, especially with talks on a nuclear deal getting started, Reuters adds. Such a move would likely alienate Trump and could risk broader U.S. support for Israel.
In response to a request for comment, the U.S. National Security Council referred Reuters to comments Trump made on April 17, when he told reporters he had not waved Israel off an attack, but was not “in a rush” to support military action against Tehran. But he says that they are facing the same issue here. “I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death,” Trump said. “That’s my first option. If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”
