Israel is still considering an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites in the coming months, even though U.S. President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. does not support the move for now, according to an Israeli official and two others familiar with the matter.
Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear program.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday.
Attack Catalogue
In recent months, Israel has shared several military options with the Trump administration for attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, some planned for late spring or summer, sources said. The proposed plans include airstrikes and commando raids, which could delay Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by months or possibly over a year.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Trump told Netanyahu in a White House meeting earlier this month that Washington wanted to prioritize diplomatic talks with Tehran and that he was unwilling to support a strike on the country’s nuclear facilities in the short term.
But 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 is unclear if or when Israel would move forward with such a strike, especially with talks on a nuclear deal getting started. Such a move would likely alienate Trump and could risk broader U.S. support for Israel.
Israel Had Approached Biden Admin
Parts of the plans were previously presented last year to the Biden administration, two former senior Biden administration officials told Reuters. Almost all required significant U.S. support via direct military intervention or intelligence sharing. Israel has also requested that Washington help Israel defend itself should Iran retaliate.
In response to a request for comment, the U.S. National Security Council referred Reuters to comments Trump made on Thursday, when he told reporters he has not waved Israel off an attack but that he was not “in a rush” to support military action against Tehran.
“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.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that no decision has been made yet on an Iranian strike.
Harsh, Unwavering Response
A senior Iranian security official said Tehran was aware of Israeli planning and that an attack would provoke “a harsh and unwavering response from Iran.”
“We have intelligence from reliable sources that Israel is planning a major attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. This stems from dissatisfaction with ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and also from Netanyahu’s need for conflict as a means of political survival,” the official told Reuters.
Biden Admin Pushback
Netanyahu received pushback from the Biden administration when he presented an earlier version of the plan. The former senior Biden officials said Netanyahu wanted the U.S. to take the lead on airstrikes but the Biden White House told Israel it did not believe a strike was prudent unless Tehran moved to accelerate its enrichment of nuclear material or expel inspectors from the country.
The Biden officials also questioned the extent to which Israel’s military could effectively carry out such an attack.
Experts say Israel would need major U.S. military support to fully destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, many of which are underground. While a smaller strike might need less help, Israel would still want U.S. backing to defend itself if Iran retaliates. Any attack would be risky and likely only delay Iran’s nuclear program temporarily, according to military and nuclear experts.
Libyan Style Agreement
Israeli officials have told Washington in recent weeks that they do not believe U.S. talks with Iran should move forward to the deal-making stage without a guarantee that Tehran will not have the ability to create a nuclear weapon.
“This can be done by agreement, but only if this agreement is Libyan style: They go in, blow up the installations, dismantle all of the equipment, under American supervision,” Netanyahu said following his talks with Trump. “The second possibility is … that they (Iran) drag out the talks and then there is the military option.”
From Israel’s perspective, this may be a good moment for a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been hammered by Israel since the Gaza war began, while the Houthi movement in Yemen has been targeted by U.S. airstrikes. Israel also severely damaged Iran’s air defense systems in an exchange of fire in October 2024.
A top Israeli official, speaking with reporters earlier this month, recognized there was some urgency if the goal was to launch a strike before Iran rebuilds its air defenses. But the senior official refused to state any timeline for possible Israeli action and said discussing this would be “pointless”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
