How Trump, a self-proclaimed 'peacemaker', embraced Israel's campaign against Iran, World News
WASHINGTON — Roughly one month ago, from the stage at an investment forum in Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran that would prove prophetic.
"We'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack," Trump told the crowd, sending a message to the leadership in Tehran.
"The time is right now for them to choose. Right now. We don't have a lot of time to wait. Things are happening at a very fast pace."
That May 13 ultimatum received little attention at the time.
But behind the scenes, the president already knew an attack on Iran could be imminent — and that there might be little he could do to stop it, according to two US officials.
By mid-May, the Pentagon had begun drawing up detailed contingency plans to aid Israel if it followed through on its long-held ambition to strike Iran's nuclear programme, the officials said. And the US had already diverted thousands of defencive weapons away from war-torn Ukraine toward the Middle East in preparation for potential conflict, according to a Western source familiar with the matter and a Ukrainian source.
The Pentagon declined to comment for this story.
This account of the weeks and days leading up to Trump's decision to throw his support behind Israel's bombing campaign is based on interviews with over a dozen administration officials, foreign diplomats and Trump confidantes, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
The picture that emerges is that of a long, secretive preparation process and a president who for weeks found himself torn between diplomacy and supporting military action — and was ultimately persuaded in part by an ally whose actions he did not fully control.
While Trump has long described himself as a peacemaker — dispatching Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to the region several times to try to seal a diplomatic accord — he had several trusted political allies pushing him to back an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
[[nid:719255]]
And US intelligence had indicated a unilateral Israeli strike was possible, even likely, even if Trump wanted to wait, according to two US officials.
While it is unclear if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Trump's more hawkish allies ever got him to a "yes" to Israel's plans, by the days leading up the strike he was at least not a "no," according to two senior US officials and a senior Israeli source.
That stance, people familiar with the dynamics said, helped tip Israel into action.
Seven days into the Israel-Iran conflict, Trump is left with a dilemma, said Aaron David Miller, a veteran diplomat who has advised six secretaries of state on Middle East policy.
He can try again to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Iran, allow Iran and Israel "to fight it out," or he can enter the war with US airstrikes on the deeply buried Fordow enrichment plant, a step that would have unknown consequences for the region.
Trump "let it (the Israeli attack) happen," said Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace policy institute. "He got on the tiger and he's riding it."
The White House on Thursday said that Trump will make a decision on whether the US will get involved in the conflict in the next two weeks.
The White House, the Israeli prime minister's office and Iran's delegation to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. Tehran has consistently said its nuclear programme is designed for peaceful purposes only, a conclusion Washington has rejected. The coming storm
One of the first hints that Trump might sign off on an Israeli bombing campaign came in April.
[[nid:719299]]
During a closed-door meeting on April 17, Saudi Arabia's defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: Take Trump's offer to negotiate an agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.
Reuters could not determine whether the message was sent at Washington's behest, nor whether Iran's leaders took that message seriously.
With hindsight, they should have.
The Israel Defence Forces and the head of US Central Command, General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, were discussing detailed intelligence about Iran's missile buildup and nuclear programme and steps that could be required to defend US troops and Israel itself in any conflict with Iran, according to a US official and senior Israeli official.
Meanwhile, the US was funnelling weapons to Israel that would be useful for an air war with Iran. In one instance in early May, a large shipment of defencive missiles originally meant for Ukraine was diverted to Israel instead, according to the Western source and the Ukrainian source.
The diverted shipment caused consternation in Kyiv and sparked continued fears that additional weapons needed to defend against Moscow will instead be used to defend US interests elsewhere, the Ukrainian source said.
In the opening months of Trump's term, Israel had already proposed to Washington a series of options to attack Iran's facilities, according to sources.
While Trump had rebuffed those ideas, saying he preferred diplomacy for the time being, several people close to him said he was never dead-set against using military force against Iran.
[[nid:719288]]
He had done so before. In 2020, despite a foreign policy during his first term that was otherwise marked by restraint, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed major general Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' division responsible for its international operations.
The Iranian government has since sought to murder Trump in revenge, US prosecutors have said, an allegation Tehran denies.
Behind the scenes, Trump had been pulled in multiple directions on the Iran issue since before he even took office.
On one side, many supporters - including conservative media personality Tucker Carlson - and administration officials saw Trump's Make America Great Again movement as an antidote to decades of foreign wars that cost thousands of American lives without significantly advancing American interests.
On the other, several close Trump allies - from conservative commentator Mark Levin to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham - were portraying a nuclear Iran as an existential threat that must be removed at any cost.
Trump himself took pride in being a broker of peace.
"My proudest legacy," he said during his inauguration address, "will be that of a peacemaker and unifier." "It's a tango"
Ultimately, no US official, Trump confidante or diplomat Reuters talked to identified an epiphany that tipped the scales for the president.
One senior administration official said that after months of sitting on the fence a lack of diplomatic progress, a push from the Israelis and appeals by hawkish allies likely wore him down.
Trump aides and allies have noted that Israel's attack unfolded just after the expiry of a 60-day deadline the Trump administration had set for a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran.
The senior US official said another dynamic was at play: As US intelligence consistently showed Israel might go ahead with an attack with or without US support, the administration could look caught off guard if they did not get behind it. Worse, it could appear that the US was opposing a longtime ally.
Although Trump had appeared to some to snub Netanyahu as he pushed for a peaceful solution to the crisis, privately, Israel understood that Washington would stand by it, said a separate official.
By the time Trump talked to Netanyahu on Monday, June 9 — one of many phone calls in recent days — his stance was one of tacit, if not explicit approval, according to one US and one Israeli official.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had said he would like more time to see diplomacy play out. But the US official said that he did not explicitly veto Israel's plans.
By Wednesday, June 11, it was clear to Washington that Israel's plans were a go.
That day, Reuters reported that the US was preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy amid fears of reprisals from Iran following an imminent attack.
The next day, June 12, Washington sent a formal diplomatic note to several regional allies, warning them that an attack was imminent.
That evening, Israel launched its overnight barrage, an attack that almost immediately escalated into an air war.
Trump and some key cabinet members watched the events live from the wood-paneled "JFK room," part of the White House Situation Room. Other officials watched the events nearby.
On the menu, per one official: stone crabs from a local restaurant.
The initial attack appeared to be a success, with several close advisers to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed and key nuclear sites seriously damaged. Over the weekend, the Israelis considered killing Khamenei himself, but were waved off by Trump, according to two US officials.
Almost immediately, a political civil war erupted in Trump's Republican Party, with several high-profile conservatives, including members of Congress, accusing his administration of fanning the flames of war.
Seven days on, the US intelligence community believes the strikes have set Iran's nuclear ambitions back by only months, according to a source familiar with US intelligence reports, confirming a CNN report.
A significant blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, most analysts say, will require dropping bunker-busting bombs on the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear programme. Only the US has that capability.
Trump has said he is considering such a strike, which would represent a major escalation for the United States.
As of Thursday, his intentions were still unclear.
[[nid:719286]]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russia says any use of tactical nuclear weapons by US in Iran would be catastrophic, TASS reports
Russia says any use of tactical nuclear weapons by US in Iran would be catastrophic, TASS reports MOSCOW - Potential use of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States in Iran would be a catastrophic development, Russian state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday. Peskov was commenting on what he called speculative media reports about that possibility. His comments, as reported by TASS, did not mention any media by name. The Guardian newspaper reported that U.S. defence officials were briefed that using conventional bombs against Iran's underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow would not be enough to destroy it completely, and that destroying it would require initial attacks with conventional bombs and then dropping a tactical nuclear weapon from a B-2 bomber. However, the British newspaper said President Donald Trump was not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Fordow and the possibility was not presented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, in meetings in the White House Situation Room. Trump said on Thursday that any decision on potential U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict would be made within two weeks. Russia, which has close ties with Iran, has warned strongly against U.S. military intervention on the side of Israel. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Leaders of China, New Zealand discuss trade, Pacific security
Chinese President Xi Jinping and New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China June 20, 2025. China Daily via REUTERS BEIJING/SYDNEY - The leaders of China and New Zealand discussed on Friday the role of trade in boosting ties, while New Zealand also pressed its interests for peace and security in the Pacific, government statements showed. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met in the capital's Great Hall of the People as China's influence grows in the Pacific, challenging the traditionally stronger security foothold many Western nations have had there. On his first visit to China since taking office in November 2023, Luxon discussed the need for stability, less tension in the Indo-Pacific and New Zealand's "enduring support for Pacific-led priorities", his government said in a statement. Luxon's meeting with the leader of New Zealand's biggest trade partner was "constructive", he said in a post on X. "We discussed the depth of the New Zealand-China relationship - from trade and people-to-people ties to our shared global responsibilities," he said. "In a complex world, open dialogue is more important than ever." The remarks came after New Zealand aired concerns this year when Cook Islands, with which it has constitutional ties, signed pacts with China without first consulting it, including one for cooperation on the economy, infrastructure and seabed mining. Luxon also backed up the role of the Pacific Islands Forum, an inter-government body seeking to foster cooperation among Oceanic countries and territories. Without making specific reference to any issue, Xi called for both countries to seek common ground and view differences "accurately", state news agency Xinhua said. "There are no historical grudges or conflicts of interest between China and New Zealand, so we should respect each other, seek common ground," Xi told Luxon, it said, adding that both must accurately look at and tackle disagreements. During his four-day visit to the commercial hub of Shanghai and the capital, Beijing, Luxon has championed an agenda of boosting business, travel and education for New Zealand. MORE BUSINESS Xi also talked about deepening trade and investment ties, as well as scope to work on science and technology, climate change response and infrastructure along with education exchanges - echoing most of Luxon's goals. Luxon documented his meetings on Instagram, posting video messages to fellow citizens reinforcing his mission of getting "money into your back pocket". He clinched travel-related pacts and pushed New Zealand's tertiary education as well as its exports of meat, a key item of trade with China after dairy. Its exports to China were NZ$20.85 billion ($12.51 billion) in 2024, comprising goods worth NZ$17.75 billion and services of NZ$3.1 billion, the foreign ministry said on its website. Chinese tourists are New Zealand's third-largest group of international visitors, though official data show their numbers are still nearly a fifth lower than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. China Eastern Airlines will launch more flights with New Zealand from December, the New Zealand government said on Wednesday. Days before the visit, New Zealand unveiled a 12-month trial of visa waivers from November for Chinese passport holders arriving from Australia with valid visas from its neighbour. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
One killed, 14 injured in overnight Russian attack on Ukraine's Odesa
Paramedics assist a girl at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released June 20, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS Residents react at the site of their apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released June 20, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS A firefighter works at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released June 20, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS A firefighter carries a woman during an evacuation from her apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released June 20, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS A firefighter helps a woman during an evacuation from her apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released June 20, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS One killed, 14 injured in overnight Russian attack on Ukraine's Odesa KYIV - One person was killed and at least 14 were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, damaging high-rise buildings and railway infrastructure, local authorities and prosecutors said on Friday. Odesa is Ukraine's largest Black Sea port, key for imports and exports, and has been under constant missile and drone attacks by Russia since the war began. "Despite the active work of air defence forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, a higher education institution, a gas pipeline and private cars," local governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger. Kiper released photos of burning houses and charred high-rise buildings. Local emergencies service said that during the attack there were at least 10 drone strikes on residential buildings, causing massive fires. Ukraine's air force said on Friday that Russia had launched 86 drones on Ukraine overnight. The military noted its air defence units shot down 34 drones while another 36 drones were lost - in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them - or they were drone simulators that did not carry warheads. However, the military reported that drones hit 8 locations. Ukrainian state railways Ukrzaliznytsia reported that Odesa railway station was damaged during the attack, with power wires and rails damaged. Russian drones also attacked Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine overnight, damaging several private and multi-storey houses, Kharkiv officials said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
