Trump Resists Neo-Con Push to Enter War vs Iran
June 19—Sources close to the White House report that President Donald Trump has thus far resisted efforts by neo-cons in his administration and Congress, as well as Israel’s messianic Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, to push him to enter Israel’s war against Iran.
The sources say that in meetings with his national security team, Trump has approved a number of potential military options, including the use of U.S. 15-ton bunker buster bombs against the mostly untouched hardened Iranian nuclear lab at Fordow, which is buried deep in a mountain about 18 miles from the religious city of Qom. The Israelis do not possess the munitions to destroy the site, and while U.S. military officials assure the President that the bunker busters would be effective, Trump remains uncertain they will work.
Sources also report that one option under consideration is to give the Israelis the ordnance and then assist in designing the attack. However, Trump and U.S. military advisors are uncertain whether the bombs can be deployed effectively by anything other than an American B-2 bomber delivery system.
Backchannel Negotiations Amid Escalation
Several sources in both Washington and the region say that Trump is holding out to see if a nuclear deal can still be worked out with Iran, even at this late date. Furious diplomatic work is reportedly underway involving the Iranians, the Omanis, possibly other Gulf states, the Russians, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has not been seen publicly for several days.
“To the best of my knowledge,” said a source, “Trump believes that the threat of U.S. involvement, as well as his tough talk, has made the sane elements of the Iranian political leadership understand that this is the last chance for a deal that could still save many lives. They realize that simply bombing the nuclear sites will not be sufficient to destroy them; there would need to be troops on the ground for mop-up operations, especially at Fordow. This could lead to intense fighting and loss of life, as would the continued missile and bombing campaigns between Iran and Israel. A deal would end this without the loss of life.”
“But Trump does not want extended talks—he wants a deal,” said the source. “He wants it basically on the terms already discussed, with some modifications by the Russians. The deal is: no nuclear weapons, no Iranian enrichment—this is to be handled by the Russians, working with them; Iran will be allowed to have a civilian nuclear program for peaceful purposes; and a clear schedule for sanctions relief. If they come to Trump with a deal—not talks—then the war is over. There can be non-adversarial work to dismantle the sites.”
Tensions with Israel Over Strategic Objectives
“This is what Trump wants to happen,” the source added, “but it is not what Bibi wants. He wants the U.S. to be drawn into his crusade—not to prevent an Iranian nuke, but to eliminate Iran as a nation. To eliminate what he sees as Israel’s biblical enemy—the Persian Empire—to bomb it back to the Stone Age and reduce its population. Trump is not into that game at all. That is behind his reluctance to ‘join’ with Israel as the neo-cons and fundamentalists want.”
There is also the matter of the alleged faked intelligence estimate Netanyahu used to justify launching his war effort, while nuclear deal talks were still underway. Netanyahu claimed he had new intelligence that Iran was “days or weeks away from having a bomb.” This report was denied by the CIA, which asserts Iran has not been taking steps to build a bomb and may be years away. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified to this effect in March and has said nothing has changed.
Trump recently publicly contradicted her, stating that he believed Iran was very close to getting a bomb and that he would not allow it. Sources report that while there is no formal break between Trump and Gabbard, she has not been involved in recent discussions about whether the U.S. should bomb Iran.
Strategic Stakes and the Prospect of Peace
White House sources expect Trump’s position to be clarified in the coming days, and they remain hopeful that Witkoff could pull “a deal from the hat,” as he has done on past matters. “The Russians and President [Vladimir] Putin are players in this, and they are putting pressure on Iran to end this and make a deal,” said the source. “It would be a real coup for the Trump-Putin growing relationship if this can be pulled off.”
These and other sources stressed that there is no military solution to this crisis, which is compounded by the outlook of “Crusader Bibi.” They emphasize that Iran does not need nuclear facilities to produce a bomb. Iran remains the largest full-set economy in the region—it can produce its own machine tools and boasts an advanced and growing scientific cadre of far greater depth and capacity than Israel. A bomb could be produced from fissionable materials using fast computers bought from Best Buy or eBay. While making such a bomb warhead-ready may not be simple, Iran could still produce a powerful dirty bomb and hand-deliver it to Israel. A couple of such bombs could seriously devastate the small country.
The idea, then, is to create a different geometry in which any use of nuclear weapons is undesirable, and peaceful coexistence is attainable without “forever wars.” Put simply, President Trump shares this view; the messianic Bibi, his promoters, and his NATO-aligned backers who think like the British—ruling by divide and conquer—do not. So, we are still a long way from being out of the woods of war here, and elsewhere.