Israel would ‘lead’ strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, says Trump

“Israel will obviously be very much involved in” strikes on Iran’s nuclear centers, Trump says, adding that Jerusalem will “be the leader of that.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

President Donald Trump said that Israel would “be the leader” if Jerusalem and Washington bombed Iran’s nuclear sites, should talks aimed at securing an agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear development program fail.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said that military action is on the table if Iran does not agree to a deal limiting its nuclear efforts to strictly civilian purposes.

“Israel will obviously be very much involved in that — it’ll be the leader of that,” Trump said.

However, moments later, Trump clarified that “nobody leads” the U.S. and that “we do what we want to do.”

Trump elaborated on the deadline for talks, stressing that he would not allow Tehran to drag out negotiations.

“We have a little time, but we don’t have much time because we’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “We’re going to let them thrive. 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.”

On Monday, Trump announced that the U.S. was set to begin direct talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program. The statement appeared to take Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the White House at the time, by surprise.

In recent weeks, Trump has made public overtures towards Iran, urging Tehran to engage in diplomacy.

The Islamic Republic admitted that it was prepared to resume talks with Washington, though the country claimed negotiations would take place via an Omani intermediary.

The U.S. deployed at least six B-2 stealth bombers to the Indian Ocean atoll of Diego Garcia, flexing its muscles ahead of the talks.

“The deployment of these B-2s is clearly designed to send a message – perhaps several messages – to Iran,” former US Air Force colonel and military analyst Cedric Leighton told CNN.

“One of them could be a warning to cease supporting the Houthis in Yemen,” he said. “Another message the Trump administration might be sending to Iran is that it wants a new nuclear deal (to replace the ‘bad’ deal Trump withdrew the US from in his first term) and if Iran doesn’t start to negotiate with the US the consequences could be the destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”