President Donald Trump faces potentially the hardest choice of his time in the White House, as he weighs up whether the United States should join Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran.
Trump fueled speculation about a US intervention as he dashed back from a G7 summit in Canada, warning Tuesday that the United States could kill Iran’s supreme leader, but would not “for now.”
The choice is a monumental one for a president who has vowed throughout both his first and second terms in the Oval Office to get the United States out of its “forever wars” in the Middle East.
“It’s a major political and military choice that could define his legacy in the Middle East,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told AFP.
As Trump met his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday, there were already hints that he was considering abandoning what was until recently his preferred diplomatic route.
The most likely option under consideration by Trump would be the use of giant US “bunker-buster” bombs against Iran’s deeply buried Fordow nuclear facility that Israel’s bombs could not reach.
US officials said dismantling Iran’s nuclear program — which Western countries say Tehran is using to seek a nuclear weapon — remained Trump’s priority.
– Fluid situation –
Trump also implied that the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is back on the table, just days after a US official said he had waved off such a move by Israel.
US officials stressed that Trump had not yet made a decision and was keeping all options on the table, with the situation fluid and changing “hourly.”
The Axios news site said Trump was even considering a new meeting between his top negotiator Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
A game-changer however would be any Iranian attack on US forces in the region, with an official saying that Trump would not tolerate a “hair on the back of an American” being harmed.
Trump’s change of tone is remarkable for coming less than a week after the US president — who has openly talked about wanting to win the Nobel Peace Prize — called on Israel to avoid strikes.
But amid frequent phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Netanyahu’s own hints about pursuing regime change in Iran, Trump has pivoted.
Trump has ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft, raising questions about whether he will act.
– ‘Decisions on your shoulders’ –
A further hint that action may be on the cards came from the White House’s apparent efforts to see off any backlash from his own Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
There has been growing opposition to any Iran intervention from the isolationist wing of his base, who hold him to his pledge to keep the United States out of wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Vice President JD Vance defended his boss, saying Trump had “earned some trust” on the issue and “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian (uranium) enrichment.”
“Having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people’s goals,” the Iraq veteran said, in a nod to MAGA skeptics.
Trump himself meanwhile hinted at his mood as he mulled his critical decision.
He reposted a comment by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, saying God had “spared” Trump from an assassination attempt last year.
“The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice,” Huckabee said.
