Israeli officials have told the administration of US President Donald Trump that they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear program and that Israel could act on its own before the deadline, two sources said, amid ongoing debate within Trump's team about whether the United States should get involved.
Two sources familiar with the situation said Israel conveyed its concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone conversation.
Israeli officials have said they do not want to wait the two weeks that Trump presented on Thursday as a deadline for deciding whether the United States will intervene in the Israeli-Iranian war, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israeli participants in the conversation included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and military commander Eyal Zamir, according to a security source, Reuters reported.
The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to take action against the deeply buried site at Fordow, the jewel of Iran's nuclear program, the sources said.
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The US is the only country with bunker-busting bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into a mountainside.
Reuters reported today that the US is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, raising the possibility that the US could directly participate in the attack. The B-2s could be equipped to carry the US GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator missile system, a 13.000-kilogram (XNUMX-pound) missile designed to destroy targets deep underground, such as the one at Fordow.
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A person in Washington familiar with the situation said Israel has told the US administration that it believes Trump's two-week deadline is too long and that more urgent action is needed. The person did not say whether the Israelis raised this during the high-level call.
During the call, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance retorted, saying the United States should not be directly involved and suggesting that the Israelis would drag the country into war, the sources said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also participated in the call, a security source said. Reuters could not determine who else was on the call.
The Jerusalem Post previously reported that the phone call was made on Thursday.
The prospect of a US strike on Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some prominent members of his base urging him not to drag the country into another war in the Middle East.
Vance has often criticized past U.S. involvement in conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan, but has recently defended Trump from Republican critics who have urged the administration to stay out of the Iran conflict.
Other Republicans, including Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said they hoped Trump would help Israel complete the destruction of Iran's nuclear program.
Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep the United States out of what he called "stupid" foreign wars, has himself at times seemed conflicted about whether to join Israel's attack on Iran or focus on diplomatic efforts to end Tehran's nuclear program. But his rhetoric toward Iran has become increasingly aggressive in recent days.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
The White House declined to comment for this story.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran's mission to the United Nations also did not immediately respond.
Israeli attack on Ford increasingly likely
Netanyahu has not publicly ruled out the possibility of Israel attacking Fordow itself, although officials have not provided any details on how that might be achieved, according to Reuters.
Four sources said it was now increasingly likely that the country would launch a military operation of its own. Israel's air superiority over much of Iran makes the operation more feasible, although still risky, two of the sources said.
The Israelis believe they have momentum and limited time given the costs of the war, one source added.
"I don't see them waiting much longer," the source said.
It is not clear whether such an operation would involve bombing, ground forces or both. Two sources said that, rather than attempting to destroy the entire site, Israel could inflict significant damage on it.
That could mean focusing on destroying what is inside the site, rather than the site itself, one of the sources said, declining to give details.
Some analysts have speculated that Israel could use special forces to enter Fordow and blow it up from within.
Another scenario being considered, according to a source familiar with the situation, would be a rapid-fire barrage of ammunition in an attempt to breach a fortified site, similar to the way the Israeli military killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last year.
Such a strike could be followed by a special forces invasion, the source said.
It is unclear whether Israel has the munitions powerful enough to penetrate the fortified facility. It is widely believed that a major US intervention would be required for any chance of success.
But even with the massive firepower of a joint US-Israeli military action, military and nuclear experts believe a military operation would likely only temporarily set back a program that the West fears is already aimed at producing atomic bombs one day, although Iran denies this, according to Reuters.
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