ISRAEL is reportedly “fully ready” to launch a military strike against Iran within days – and without the backing of the United States.
It comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to secure a deal with Tehran aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.
Donald Trump is reportedly in advanced discussions with Iran regarding a preliminary deal that may contain clauses on uranium enrichment, terms that Israel deems unsatisfactory.
According to a Capitol Hill official and other sources interviewed by NBC News, Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration is prepared to take independent action as the prospects of affecting the U.S.-Iran talks fade.
An Israeli strike under these circumstances would signify a significant breach in U.S.-Israel cooperation and could escalate into a more extensive conflict within the already unstable Middle East region.
One senior diplomat in the Middle East told The Washington Post: “We are watching and worried.
“We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past.”
In anticipation of potential retaliation by Iran, the US has moved to scale back its presence in the Middle East.
The State Department has ordered the departure of non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and authorised voluntary departures of personnel and military dependents from Bahrain and Kuwait.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review.”
President Trump, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, confirmed the move: “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place and we’ll see what happens.”
He reiterated the administration’s red line: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, very simple, they can’t have a nuclear weapon, we’re not going to allow that.”
Trump also told the New York Post’s podcast Pod Force One: “Either way – Iran won’t have a nuke.
“It would be nice to do it without warfare or people dying. Time will tell.”
Posting a video of US military in action, the President wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: “I am more confident than ever that in the days ahead and every generation to come, the U.S. Army will heap glory upon glory.
“You will summon inexhaustible courage. You will protect every inch of U.S. soil—and you will defend America to the ends of the earth!”
The heightened alert stems not just from fears of Iranian retaliation, but also from growing intelligence assessments that Israel may be preparing for a direct strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities – bypassing Washington’s diplomat track.
Iran, meanwhile, has warned of severe consequences if it is attacked.
Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said Iran would respond by targeting American bases in the region.
Iran’s mission to the UN added: “Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability.”
US negotiator Steve Witkoff is still set to meet Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Muscat, Oman on Sunday for what would be the sixth round of nuclear talks.
But sources caution that the meeting may not go ahead if the situation worsens.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters: “Any military action against Iran, whether by the US or Israel, will have serious consequences.”
The evacuation of US personnel has sent ripples through global markets.
Oil prices jumped more than 4% following reports of the drawdown in Baghdad.
Britain’s maritime agency has also warned of rising risk in the Gulf, urging vessels to proceed with caution through key shipping lanes near Iran.
While Iraq has not reported any immediate security threat, its strategic position as host to both US troops and Iran-backed militias makes it a potential flashpoint should conflict erupt.
The US still maintains 2,500 troops in the country.
The backdrop to these latest tensions includes a faltering attempt to revive a nuclear agreement with Iran, first signed in 2015 and abandoned by Trump in 2018.
Since then, Iran has ramped up its uranium enrichment and accumulated stockpiles of near-weapons-grade material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In Vienna this week, the IAEA’s board of governors heard that Iran now possesses around 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium – well above the limits set by the 2015 deal.
Iran claims its programme is for peaceful purposes, but Western powers, including the US, are increasingly sceptical.
On Wednesday, Trump acknowledged his confidence in a diplomatic solution was waning.
He told Pod Force One: “I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago.
“Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made.”
Netanyahu will obliterate Iran’s nuke empire on his own terms
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital), in Paris
BENJAMIN Netanyahu is plotting to bomb Iran as it is his “main goal for his legacy” to destroy its nuclear scheme, his ex-advisor said.
But government insiders in Europe have echoed Donald Trump’s warning not to undermine talks with Tehran and strike without US backing.
Israeli PM Netanyahu has been making preparations behind the scenes to swiftly blitz Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities as he deems the country “enemy number one”.
Nadav Shtrauchler, a former adviser to Netanyahu, told The Sun how the PM could give the green light to bomb Iran to cement his legacy.
The strategic adviser said: “In his eyes, two things are highly important. One of them is Iran. The second is Saudi Arabia and the following of the Abraham Accords.
“Number one is Iran before everything else.
“He sees that as a threat as an immediate threat to the state and after the last two big strikes from Iran, people understood that next time it could be different material on those weapons.
“His main goal is to stop Iran and he needs to put every pressure he can.
“Of course, you want to do it with Trump and with the American administration – but I think he would not avoid attacking there.
“This is his main number one goal in this war.”
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