President Donald Trump said Thursday that an Israeli strike on Iran “could very well happen” but declined to say if it was imminent and suggested he’d prefer to avoid it through ongoing nuclear negotiations.
Trump’s comments came amid growing concerns in Washington, the Middle East and beyond that Israel is on the verge of carrying out a strike. U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet within days with two senior Israeli officials to clarify Israel’s position. The U.S. also is withdrawing U.S. diplomats from some posts in the Middle East.
It’s far from clear whether Israel would take such a drastic step, to which Iran would likely retaliate. When asked if an attack was imminent, Trump said: “I don’t want to say imminent.”
“But,” he added, “it looks like something that could very well happen.”
He indicated that ongoing diplomatic negotiations were the better route. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Other than that, I want them to be successful. I want them to be tremendous. We’ll help them be successful. We’ll trade with them. We’ll do whatever is necessary.”
Word of the Israeli threat could be aimed at pressuring Tehran into concessions during a new round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks scheduled in Oman on Sunday. Witkoff is involved in those talks. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government also believes it has a short window to take out Iran’s atomic infrastructure because Iran and its proxy militias are unusually weak after other Israeli attacks over the past year and a half.
The topic is a dicey one for the Trump political coalition. Many in the MAGA base have isolationist views and want to avoid involvement in a Middle East war. Others are more hawkish and see the possibility of nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to Israel that cannot be resolved diplomatically.
Although Israel could carry out strikes that damage some of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure on its own, military analysts say it needs U.S. assistance to truly wipe out the Iranian program. Either way, if Iran retaliates, Israel may need U.S. help defending itself.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to rule out carrying out preemptive strikes on Iran when asked about the possibility at a congressional hearing. Asked if the administration would caution Netanyahu against escalating, he sidestepped the question with a vague response.
“What I know is that Bibi Netanyahu is going to put his country first, and we’re going to put our country first, and we’re positioned properly in the region to ensure that we’re prepared for any potential contingency,” Hegseth said.
A person close to the president’s national security team said that for now Trump and his team are still hoping for a nuclear deal with Iran. But, the person added, the Trump team is drawing a hard line on whether Iran should be allowed to enrich any uranium on its soil. The Trump administration does not want to allow it, while Iran is insisting it retain that right, even if the enrichment is at low levels that do not approach what’s needed for a nuclear bomb. (Iran has long denied it seeks a bomb, saying it wants nuclear power for peaceful reasons.)
Two senior Israeli officials — Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad spy agency — are expected to travel Friday to see Witkoff, according to an Israeli official. The Israeli official did not say where the meeting would be held.
On Wednesday, Israel’s ambassador to the United States went to the White House for conversations, according to a person familiar with the events. A spokesperson for the White House declined to provide immediate comment.
The Israeli official, the person familiar with the events and the person close to Trump’s national security team were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the developments.
Iran’s defense minister also threatened Wednesday to strike American bases in the region if negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail and conflict with the U.S. arises.
John Bolton, who served as a national security adviser to Trump during his first term but has since fallen out with the president, argued that Israel would not necessarily wait for an outright green light from the United States before launching an attack. But it may seek U.S. assistance to defend itself against retaliation from Tehran.
“They would certainly like as much U.S. defense as they can get and that is the one reason that might hold them back until they get a more positive sign from Trump,” Bolton said.
Hegseth on Wednesday authorized the voluntary departures of the families and dependents of U.S. service members stationed at bases in the Middle East. But military personnel will not be pulled at this time.
The U.S. announced Thursday that its government employees and their families in Israel “are restricted from traveling outside” the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice.
“The situation remains complex and may change rapidly,” the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said in a statement.
The regional tensions are causing alarm in many capitals around the world, including China, which helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump pulled out of that agreement in 2018.
In a statement on the new dynamics, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing “always believes the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through political and diplomatic means.”
Amy Mackinnon, Eli Stokols, Eric Bazail-Eimil, Phelim Kine and Joe Gould contributed to this report.
