Trump rules out Sunday strike on Iran as Netanyahu warns Israel faces imminent existential threat
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States would not launch a military strike against Iran today.Asked by a reporter whether a US attack on Iran could take place as soon as today, Trump replied: “Would I tell you that? The answer is no. There will not be a strike today.”
The president did not rule out military action at a later date.Earlier on Sunday, Trump told reporters that he has yet to make a decision on whether or not to renew strikes against Iran. “Should I finish the job - which would be very easy to do - or should I reach an agreement? That is the whole decision," he said.Trump says 'not much going on' at Iranian nuclear sites, Netanyahu claims Israel facing existential threatTrump added that the US is actively monitoring activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site as well as three other sites that were allegedly destroyed in previous strikes.
“There isn't much activity going on there,” he clarified.Trump's comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a post on X/Twitter that Israel is currently facing “real and tangible existential danger” coming from Iran.Netanyahu claimed that only a small window of time remains for Israel and the US to act and completely defeat Iran.Netanyahu also shared a video from one of the IDF's anti-missile batteries where he said: "The IDF is prepared on both defense and in offense.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article reports Netanyahu's claim of an existential danger from Iran and a small window to act without saying that Israel votes in an election on Tuesday, that Netanyahu had already warned of attacks ahead of that election, and that Trump was urging Israelis to re-elect him to 'finish the job' in Iran. It mentions only the US midterms. Without this a reader takes Netanyahu's warning as a plain security assessment rather than a statement made in the final days of his own campaign.
How we know
- The Sun reported“Donald Trump urged Israelis to vote for Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s crucial elections”US ready to strike Iran ‘within days’ – as Trump calls on Israel to re-elect Netanyahu to ‘finish job’ (opens in a new tab)
- The Jerusalem Post wrote earlier“Israel's enemies could try to attack ahead of the election”Netanyahu: Israel to join flydubai probe, ‘we’ll find out’ whether Iran was involved (opens in a new tab)
I warn our enemies – you will absorb strikes out of proportion, stronger than you can even imagine."Trump said on Friday that Washington is weighing another military operation against Iran, saying that the US “may do another little Epic Fury” during a pre-midterm election rally in Florida.US-Israeli strike on Iran: Not if, whenAdditionally, US officials believe that a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran is not a question of “if,” but “when.”“It appears that Trump has decided he wants to carry out a significant strike against Iran.
The only question is when to do it,” one official told The Jerusalem Post.Another official said the president was “very close” to escalating US action against Iran.The prevailing assessment in Washington is that Trump will hold off on making a final decision on military action against Iran until after the November 3 midterm elections.On Sunday, Trump told Fox News in an interview: “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal?
That's the decision.”
Read the original article on jpost.com (opens in a new tab)