Israel will keep bombing Iran's nuke sites even without Trump – we will finish the job, says Netanyahu's ex-adviser
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ISRAEL will continue blitzing Iran's nuclear sites with or without the US joining strikes, Benjamin Netanyahu's ex-adviser says.
It comes as Donald Trump has revealed he has opened a two-week window for talks as he mulls whether America will intervene in the conflict.
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Israel has already struck a number of nuclear targets in Iran
Credit: AFP
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Damage inflicted on Tel Aviv after a missile
Credit: Getty
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Netanyahu will push on with his bombing campaign with or without US help
Credit: EPA
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Iran and Israel have been trading missiles for over a week
Credit: Getty
The US president, through White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said there is "a substantial chance of negotiations...with Iran in the near future".
Trump had previously tried to curb Tehran's sprawling nuclear scheme through diplomacy.
He gave Iran's regime 60 days to thrash out a deal - a deadline that passed two days before Israel unleashed unprecedented strikes on Iran's nuke sites last Friday.
Trump has this week been weighing whether to give the green light for the US to step in and deploy a 15-ton mega bunker buster bomb.
America's intervention has repeatedly been touted by Trump, who warned Iran would suffer the "full strength and might" of his military.
But Netanyahu's ex-adviser Nadav Shtrauchler - who told The Sun the Israeli PM was preparing to strike Iran alone days before he did - said the embattled nation is prepared to carry on without the US.
He said: "Of course Israel can carry on.
"I think it is going swifter here than people thought when they planned it.
"So Israel can proceed and have many targets to go through."
Strategic adviser Shtrauchler said he believes the conflict will end with an agreement being thrashed out - and said America's involvement could change the course of the conflict.
How Trump COULD destroy Iran's prize nuclear bunker
US participation would most likely involve strikes against Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility, considered to be out of reach to all but America's bunker-buster bombs.
Shtrauchler added: "It's a different story with the US, both with the military and the geopolitical side. It's a big deal and will change things.
"It's going to end with an agreement if the regime does not fall, but it is too soon to know that.
"So if the US decides against intervening you wil see more from the Israel side and at some point it will end with an agreement.
"It will make an effect and will change the end result.
"But for now we can see that Israel is working very well itself and we can proceed like this - not without the US support but without the US intervening."
It comes as Israel and Iran continue to trade heavy blows - with no sign of de-escalation in the weeklong battle.
Israel's 'Churchill moment'
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
BRITAIN will never be safe until Iran's nuclear scheme is wiped out, Israel's ambassador told The Sun.
Tzipi Hotovely said Israel is facing its "Churchill moment" and doing the UK a "huge service" by wiping out the rogue state's efforts to create a nuke weapon.
She also rebuked Sir Keir Starmer's calls for de-escalation as she insisted Tel Aviv acted at the "last minute" to save their country from "nuclear holocaust".
The PM - who chaired an emergency Cobra meeting this week - has insisted that the UK wants to de-escalate the situation and resolve it through diplomacy.
But Amb. Hotovely said Iran had its chance for diplomacy during Donald Trump's 60-day deadline to thrash out a deal over its nuclear programme.
And she warned the UK would never be safe until Iran loses any chance of developing a nuke.
The diplomat said Israel is facing its "Churchill moment" as Netanyahu finds himself in a similar position as the British wartime leader did in 1940 - drawing the US into a war with its enemy.
Speaking to The Sun at its headquarters in London, she said: "When they're calling for de-escalation, you need to understand that the only way to de-escalate the situation is by removing the threat.
"As long as Iran will race faster to have its ballistic missile programme that can destroy cities in Israel, if we will let them continue with that, cities in the UK won't be safe."
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European and Iranian officials met yesterday in Geneva, and Trump has said he will allow two weeks for negotiations before deciding whether to strike the rogue nation.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi made a condition for renewed talks a ceasefire, saying: "There is no room for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops."
Talks later on Friday between Araghchi and officials from the EU ended without a breakthrough after four hours.
No date was set for the next round of talks, aimed at getting Iran back to the negotiating table with the US.
Missiles continued to rain down in Iran and Israel as the talks were held on Friday in a scramble to de-escalate the conflict.
Netanyahu has insisted Israel's military operation in Iran would continue for as long as it takes to eliminate the "existential threat" of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles.
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Trump will decide within two weeks whether to join Israel's campaign
Credit: Getty
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Smoke pours from Iran's state broadcaster building following an Israeli attack
Credit: Reuters
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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is refusing to back down
Credit: AFP
Israel's top general echoed the warning, saying the Israeli military was ready for a prolonged campaign.
Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal.
But after Trump pulled the US unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.
Access was also restricted access to its nuclear facilities.
Netanyahu signed off a plot to bomb Iran's nuke facilities last week - killing several of its top generals and nuclear scientists, and striking several nuclear facilities.
Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates.
Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded.
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