Author: Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, Mark Mazzetti and Ronen Bergman
Published on: 17/06/2025 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
President Trump spent the first months of his term holding back Israel’s push for an assault on Iran’s nuclear program. With the war underway, his posture has gyrated as he weighs sending in the U.S. Military. Mr. Trump was getting impatient with Iran over the slow pace of negotiations and beginning to conclude that the talks might go nowhere. Contrary to Israeli claims, senior administration officials were unaware of any new intelligence showing that the Iranians were rushing to build a nuclear bomb. But seeing they would most likely not be able to deter Mr. Netanyahu and were no longer driving events. At one end of the spectrum was sitting back and doing nothing and then deciding on next steps. Interviews with two dozen officials in the United States, Israel and the Persian Gulf region show how Mr. Trump vacillated for months over how and whether to contain Mr. Netanyahu’s impulses. It was a situation he faced with a relatively inexperienced circle of advisers handpicked for loyalty. He also came to believe the Iranians were playing him in the diplomatic negotiations. Netanyahu has been trying to cajole the United States into backing or at least tolerating his long-held desire to deal Iran’s nuclear program a crippling blow. Beyond the lives lost and destruction wrought, the crisis has also laid bare schisms within Mr. Trump’s party between those inclined to reflexively defend Israel, America’s closest ally in the region, and those determined to keep the united States from getting further mired in the Middle East’s cycle of violence. In late May, they had seen intelligence that made them concerned that Israel was going to move ahead with a major assault on Iran. Based on that intelligence, Vice President JD Vance and Marco Rubio encouraged an effort to give the president a range of options so he could make quick decisions if necessary about the scope of American involvement. Netanyahu made his first visit of the second Trump term to the White House on Feb. 4. Mr. Netanyahu presented a gold-plated pager to Mr. Trump and a silver-plated Pager. Israel had secretly packed explosives and sold to unwitting Hezbollah operatives. Iranians were putting out feelers from a handful of countries to open a diplomatic path with the new administration. Mr. Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In early March, visitors to the Oval Office or guests on Air Force One were regaled. Mr. Trump’s tough-on-Iran national security adviser at the time, Mike Waltz, nonetheless had a close working relationship with Mr. Witkoff. On the intelligence side, Mr. Ratcliffe delivered information without weighing in on one side or the other. And while everyone knew Ms. Gabbard was as anti-interventionist as they come, she rarely pushed that view on the president. The third was a U.S.-led mission with Israel in a supporting role. It would have involved American B-1 and B-2 bombers, carrier aircraft and cruise missiles launched from submarines. There was also a fourth option, quickly discarded, that included an Israeli commando raid with air support from American Osprey helicopters or other aircraft options. Netanyahu made a quick visit to Mr. Trump at the White House in April. Vance had come to view a conflict between Israel and Iran as inevitable. He turned his attention toward trying to keep America out of the conflict as much as possible beyond intelligence sharing. As May turned to June, Mr. Witkoff told colleagues that the United States and Iran were on the brink of a deal. Mr. Trump questioned the wisdom of the Israeli decision to attack. He told advisers and allies he still wanted to get a deal with Iran. Mr. Rubio distanced the United States from the Israeli campaign. Jonathan Swan is a White House reporter for The Times, covering the administration of Donald J. Trump. Mark Mazzetti is an investigative reporter based in Washington, D.C.

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