Days before the US attack on Iran, President Donald Trump informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his decision to strike the Islamic Republic’s Fordow nuclear site, according to the Jerusalem Post. In the following days, Tel Aviv convinced the White House to expand the operation to other nuclear facilities.
“Four days ago, there was a phone call between Netanyahu and the US president, during which Trump said, ‘I’ve decided to launch a strike,’” an Israeli official told the Post on Sunday. While Trump initially only planned to bomb Fordow, Israeli officials pressed him to go further.
Another source told the outlet that “Netanyahu and [Strategic Affairs Minister Ron] Dermer managed to convince [Trump] to also target the Isfahan facility” and the enrichment site at Natanz – both of which Israel had already attacked in the past week – “In order to finish the job.”
Since Trump returned to the White House, Tel Aviv has increased its influence in Washington. In the lead-up to the American strike on Iran, President Trump appeared to believe an Israeli intelligence assessment about Iran’s nuclear program over the conclusions of his own intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard.
Israeli officials additionally told the Post that Saturday night’s attack was carried out in full coordination with Tel Aviv, and that the US strikes relied on Israeli intelligence.
While Trump and his top officials have presented the operation as a one-off attack, Israel’s military chief warned his country on Friday that there could be a protracted conflict in the Middle East. “We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude, against such an enemy. We must be ready for a prolonged campaign,” Eyal Zamir said.
