The US and Israel are currently planning to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, an attack that could happen in a “few weeks’ time,” Daily Mail columnist Dan Hodges reported on Wednesday.
Hodges wrote the report while in Tel Aviv and cited Israeli political, diplomatic, and military sources. He said the purpose of the strike would be to “eradicate the threat” posed by Iran’s “nuclear weapons program,” although there’s no evidence Tehran has a nuclear weapons program, a fact recently confirmed by US intelligence agencies.
A senior Israeli diplomatic source told Hodges that Trump’s presidency offers the best time to hit Iran. “From Israel’s perspective, with Trump in the White House, this represents the optimum moment to deal with Iran. There won’t be a better chance,” the official said.
Trump recently threatened to bomb Iran if a nuclear deal isn’t reached, and he has reportedly given Tehran a two-month deadline, which would end at the end of May. Iran responded to Trump by rejecting direct talks in the face of increasing US pressure, but Tehran has offered to hold indirect negotiations.
Axios reported on Wednesday that the White House is seriously considering Iran’s offer for indirect talks but is building up US forces in the Middle East to prepare for an attack on the Islamic Republic.
US officials told Axios that there is an internal debate in the White House between those who want to engage with the Iranians and those who would rather bomb Iran right away. The report reads: “If Trump decides the time is up, he will have a loaded gun at the ready.”
Recent US deployments to the Middle East have included an additional aircraft carrier, additional air assets, and sending more B-2 bombers to the US base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. According to Haaretz, the buildup is the largest offensive US deployment in the region since October 7, 2023.
The US buildup also comes amid a heavy US bombing campaign in Yemen, which Trump launched on March 15. The president has tied the airstrikes to Iran, saying each Houthi attack will be blamed on the Islamic Republic, even though US officials have acknowledged the Houthis act independently and have their own domestically-produced weapons supply.
A full-blown US-Israeli attack on Iran would likely provoke major Iranian missile attacks on US bases in the region, and things could escalate rapidly from there. In the face of US threats, a senior IRGC commander warned that the US has “10 bases in the region, particularly around Iran, and 50,000 troops based in there” and said the US is “sitting in a glass house.”
