President Donald Trump said he is moving closer to ordering a massive attack on Iran. He also said the US does not currently need Israel’s assistance to wage the war.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” the President told Axios on Thursday. Multiple outlets have recently reported that top military officials are presenting Trump with options for a significant escalation, and current US strikes on Iran are “shaping operations” aimed at creating conditions for Trump to order a major attack.
The President believes that escalating the war will push Iranian leaders to comply with his demands. “They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he told Axios.
However, the intelligence community has informed the President that his plan is dubious. The Washington Post reported speaking with multiple US intelligence officials who said that the CIA-led assessment concluded that the current strikes are unlikely to alter Iran’s position towards negotiations.
It added that Washington and Tehran are now locked in “an indefinite limbo between peace and war.”
The ceasefire between the US and Iran collapsed last week. However, the truce between Israel and Iran has continued to hold. Trump told Axios that Israel is not striking Iran because the US does not currently need the assistance.
Trump said Israel “would join in two minutes if I ask them to,” but added that “we don’t need anybody” to launch a new operation against Iran. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Betzel Smotrich said that the best situation is for Israel to remain on the sidelines while the US fights Iran.
“The State of Israel has no interest in joining the contained confrontation between Iran and the United States,” the Israeli minister said on Tuesday. “The current situation is the best one for us.”
In February, the US and Israel launched a joint surprise attack on Iran that ignited a region-wide war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied President Trump to start the conflict. Shortly after the start of the conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the US had to strike because Israel was going to attack Iran, and Tehran would retaliate by targeting American bases in the Middle East.
Trump told Axios that his relationship with Netanyahu is “very good” and that he is willing to meet again with the Israeli leader.
