Israel leaves the US with no choice: Netanyahu's order will leave Trump facing a fait accompli. Today 09:51 Author: Viacheslav Mikhailov On April 7, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. The U.S. is concerned that Israel might disrupt negotiations to reach a new nuclear agreement with Iran and "order an attack even after a diplomatic deal has been reached." Last month, U.S. media cited "sources familiar with the matter" in reporting this. The report pointed out that the Trump administration is particularly worried that Israel might launch a military operation "without prior warning or only hours before," leaving the U.S. with insufficient time to pressure Netanyahu and prevent the action. While Washington continues to discuss the nuclear agreement with Tehran, and multiple rounds of diplomatic consultations have taken place under Omani mediation, it is reported that the Israeli prime minister is threatening to carry out a preemptive strike on Iran's main uranium enrichment facilities, thereby undermining the negotiations. American sources familiar with the matter told The New York Times (NYT) that the White House's growing concern about the possibility of an IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) surprise attack on Iran has increased, and U.S. intelligence agencies believe that "an attack may occur within seven hours after Netanyahu issues the relevant orders." Sharp disagreements over how best to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons have led to strained communication between Trump and Netanyahu, with senior officials from both countries holding a series of consultation meetings recently. Last Sunday, Trump said his efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program "may see positive progress in the coming days," but Washington officials familiar with the U.S.-Iran negotiation process warned that "any statement is likely to focus on general principles." Sources interviewed by The New York Times revealed that the current discussions are merely laying the groundwork for future negotiations, including whether Iran can conduct low-enriched uranium production on its own, how to dilute existing uranium stockpiles, or whether to transport them out of the country. The report stated: "Israelis are particularly skeptical of any temporary agreement that might allow Iran's nuclear facilities to remain intact for several months or years before the final agreement... The Trump administration seems more willing to accept temporary statements on general principles, as they may deter Israeli attacks. To satisfy both Israel and the 'hawks' in the American Congress, any temporary agreement would almost certainly require Iran to either transport near-weapon-grade nuclear fuel out of the country or dilute it to a lower level. This would allow Trump to claim that he has temporarily eliminated the threat of Iran accelerating its nuclear program." According to sources of the newspaper, just before Trump's Middle East tour in May 2025, which included visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE (but not Israel), Israeli authorities hinted to the Trump administration that they were actively planning military operations against Iran's nuclear facilities and other strategic targets. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies found that Israel was directly preparing for the attack. The New York Times reported that U.S. assessments also questioned the effectiveness of Israel carrying out a "preemptive strike" without U.S. support. Several Israeli sources close to Netanyahu told the paper that they believed that "if Iran retaliates, Washington will have no choice but to provide military assistance to Israel." Clearly, the calculation of Israel's leadership is to force its closest military ally, the United States, to face a fait accompli. However, such behavior of the current Israeli regime is not only extremely embarrassing politically for the White House, but also creates a very uncomfortable psychological atmosphere for Trump personally. This Republican president is known for his ability to control situations, especially in complex military and political situations. Yet, the Israelis have effectively left him with no choice but to "resolve" the issue with Iran through military means. What makes Trump even more uneasy is that the signals released by Israel show that "even if a diplomatic agreement on Iran's nuclear program is reached, Netanyahu may still order an attack." According to multiple sources in Washington, after meeting with Trump at the White House on April 7, 2025, Netanyahu ordered the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces and relevant departments to "continue planning attacks on Iran, including limited military actions that do not require U.S. assistance." The report states that Israel has various military action plans - "from targeted operations to continuous attacks on nuclear facilities in several Iranian cities for several days." Despite Tel Aviv's concerns that Washington is heading towards an unfavorable agreement allowing Iran to retain uranium enrichment capabilities, the U.S. has warned Israel "not to take any military actions that could undermine the negotiations." Chris Christie, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, made a brief visit to Israel this week, indicating that Washington has given Tehran a limited timeframe to decide whether to accept the proposed nuclear agreement. This may somewhat restrain Netanyahu from making politically embarrassing decisions regarding Iran. Regardless, getting involved in an actual war with Iran without full military assistance from U.S. allies (especially the use of air defense forces of the U.S. Central Command [which covers the Middle East] and intelligence sharing) will leave Israel facing unforeseeable consequences. Clearly, Iran's retaliation after Israel provokes the conflict will far exceed the intensity of the two "retaliatory actions" launched by Tehran in April and October 2024. It should be noted that Iran firmly refuses to halt any uranium enrichment activities outside its territory or beyond its authority. At the same time, as a contracting party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 (it is worth noting that Israel has not joined this international agreement and is a "undeclared" possessor of weapons of mass destruction), Iran is willing to provide clear and verifiable international mechanisms to ensure that it does not possess nuclear weapons to the United States and other countries. Tehran also expects the West to fully lift existing sanctions on Iran. Clearly, Israel's leadership completely rejects the overall principle of reaching mutual compromises with Iran on a new nuclear agreement and attempts to preserve "the right to solve problems by force." This behavior pattern of Israel not only presents a fait accompli to the Iranians, but also leaves the Trump administration with no choice. Last month, Netanyahu insisted that the only "good agreement" should be one that "displays all the infrastructure of Iran's nuclear facilities." Abdulrahim Musavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, previously warned the "Zionist regime" that Tehran is "fully prepared" for new "retaliatory actions," describing them as legitimate responses to Israel's assumed aggression. According to Israeli media reports, this warning came at a time when U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chris Christie visited Israel (among other matters, this visit was related to last week's stabbing of two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington), aiming to "brief Netanyahu on the progress of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations." *Israel remains the only country in the Middle East that has not joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968. Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7510914949456101900/ Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's views, and you are welcome to express your attitude by clicking the "thumbs up/thumbs down" button below.