Israel is trying to convince the United States to formally enter the military operations against Iran, according to a new report.
The United States has assisted Israel with some defensive measures, but has not taken an offensive position.
Israel is asking America for help in striking Iran.
Israeli defense officials have noted that they cannot destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities without US intervention.
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On Friday, the Jerusalem Post reported:
Israel is attempting to persuade the US administration to join its continued operations against Iranian nuclear sites and military targets, sources told The Jerusalem Post on Friday.
Early Friday morning, the Israel Air Force conducted multiple waves of strikes on Iran, including the Natanz nuclear facility, killing high-value targets such as the chiefs of the IRGC and the Iranian military, and nuclear scientists at the forefront of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
These strikes, named Operation Rising Lion, are still ongoing, with security officials estimating them to continue for days or weeks.
The strikes were in “full coordination” with the US, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced shortly after the strikes began, but conducted without US assets or support.
“President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,” Rubio said shortly after Israel’s initial strike.
In a post to Truth Social on Saturday, President Donald Trump said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had an hour-long phone call and discussed how both of them would like to see the fighting end.
Trump wrote of the call:
President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week. He is doing the planned prisoner swaps – large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides. The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end.
Joining the effort would surely divide Trump’s base, as he had heavily campaigned on “no new wars.” Israel’s favorability, even among Republicans, has also been tanking. A majority of Republicans under 50 years old have a negative view of the Middle Eastern state, according to the latest poll from Pew Research.
“Among Republicans, much of the shift in attitudes has come among younger adults. Republicans under 50 are now about as likely to have a negative view of Israel as a positive one (50% vs. 48%). In 2022, they were much more likely to see Israel positively than negatively (63% vs. 35%),” Pew found.
The sixth round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, scheduled to take place on Sunday in Oman, has been cancelled.
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