Trump: Israel will take lead on military strike against Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the military option remains on the table if Iran fails to reach an agreement with Washington on its nuclear program in upcoming talks, and that Israel would be “very much involved.”

In response to a reporter’s request for clarification of his statement on Monday that “Iran would be in great danger” if it failed to reach a deal, the president said he “absolutely” meant military action, “if necessary.”

“With Iran, if it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that and be the leader in that,” he added.

On Monday, Trump said, “I think everybody agrees that putting [together] a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious, and the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed on Tuesday that his government would start high-level talks with the United States.

The president, however, signaled on Wednesday that he wouldn’t allow talks to drag on. “We have a little time but we don’t have much time,” he said.

Asked when he would cut off talks, the president said, “I can’t really be specific. But … when you start talks you know if they’re going along well or not. And I would say the conclusion [of the talks] would be when I think they’re not going along well.”

His comments comport with those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with the president in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

“We agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. This can be done by agreement, but only if this agreement is Libyan-style: They go in, blow up the installations, dismantle all of the equipment under American supervision and carried out by America—this would be good,” Netanyahu said.

“The second possibility—that will not be—is that they drag out the talks, and then there is the military option. Everyone understands this. We spoke about this at length,” he added.

Both the United States and Israel agree that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, a point Trump stressed several times on Wednesday.

“I want them to thrive. I want Iran to be great. The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon. They understand that,” he said.

© JNS