U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would “either support an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities ... or even order a U.S. strike,” said two sources who spoke with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer after his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 10.
Dermer left the meeting with the impression there was a high likelihood Trump would take one of those two options, the two sources shared with Axios.
“Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation,” Trump had told Time magazine in November, in response to the question, “What are the chances of going to war with Iran during your next term?”
Top advisers to President Joe Biden also debated in recent weeks striking Iran’s nuclear sites before Trump takes office, according to Axios on Monday.
However, with two weeks left in Biden’s term, those discussions have ceased, the news outlet reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 14 that Trump’s transition team is weighing two main options to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including preventive airstrikes.
The military option was under “more serious review” in the wake of the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria and Israel’s decapitation of Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon, according to the report.
The first option involved increased U.S. military pressure on Iran, and the selling of advanced weapons to Jerusalem, such as bunker-busting bombs, that would enhance its capacity to hit Tehran’s formidable nuclear facilities, some of which are located deep underground.
During his presidential campaign, Trump said Israel should attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. During an election rally in North Carolina on Oct. 4, he said:
“That’s the first thing you want to hit. The answer should be: Hit the nuclear first, worry about the rest later,” said the former president in response to a statement by Biden that he does not support striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
