Trump: Military Action on Iran Possible, Israel to Lead Any Strike

President Donald Trump stated Wednesday that military option against Iran is still on the table if Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions. This statement comes as the U.S. is about to engage in indirect talks with Iran in Oman this weekend. “If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump said to reporters, while stating that Israel would take a “leading role” in any military strike. Trump made these comments while announcing new U.S. sanctions against five entities and one person that are related to Iran’s nuclear ambition, including Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

The Treasury Department’s sanctions intend to pressure Iran in advance of the Oman conversations, which the United States has labeled direct talks, while Iran maintains the talks will remain indirect. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed that Tehran is not pursuing nuclear weapons and extended an unsolicited invitation for American investment, stating that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would not mind investing. “American investors: Come and invest,” he said during the televised speech, in a sign that is unusual, as the two countries have been on different sides for decades.

While saying that any military operation would include Israel, Trump claimed that the U.S. would “act totally independently.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a tepid endorsement of the talks with Iran but insisted “if there is to be an agreement, it must be one that prevents Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” and referenced Libya's clear disarmament in 2003 as a means of verification. “Whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons,” he said.

The nuclear deal from 2015 that Trump abandoned in 2018, collapsed despite the efforts of the Biden Administrations attempts to restore the deal. While U.S. intelligence have not determined that Iran is building a bomb, officials have warned they could do so quickly, should they decide to do that. The amount of enrichment has increased and is nearing weapons-grade enrichment.