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With Iran strikes, Israel defies Trump's warning of 'mass casualties'
Hours ahead of Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear programme, US President Donald Trump had advised against such an attack and his top aide, Steve Witkoff, had recently warned that any Iranian retaliation could cause 'mass casualties'. read more
President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. AP
With strikes on Iran's nuclear programme, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defied US President Donald Trump — his principal international partner.
Just hours ahead of Israeli strikes inside Iran , Trump on Thursday advised Israel against such strikes and warned that any attack would kill ongoing talks. He said that a deal with Iran was 'fairly close'.
'I don't want them going in, because I think it would blow it,' said Trump.
Israel struck dozens of sites in Iran associated with the regime's nuclear programme and military in the early hours of Friday.
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The Israeli military said in statement that it launched a 'preemptive, precise, and combined offensive' on Iran's nuclear programme that involved dozens of aircraft.
'Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world. The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,' the statement read.
The Israeli attack has raised fears of an all-out war in West Asia. The attack comes after days of warnings that such an attack was imminent as talks between the United States and Iran appeared to have faltered .
Trump administration warned of Iran's 'mass casualty' response
In addition to Trump's direct advice against the attack, his Middle East Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, had also warned about the attack, according to a report.
In a meeting with top Republican Senators, Witkoff warned that Iran could launch a 'mass casualty' response if Israel bombs its nuclear sites, as per Axios.
However, Witkoff said that the Iranian attack was definitely on the table if no agreement is reached with Iran.
The Israeli attack has come ahead of Witkoff's sixth round of talks with Iranian negotiators about the country's nuclear programme on Sunday. Now, after the Israeli attack, the talks are understood to be dead and buried — at least for now.
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In a post on X, Israeli affairs analyst Shaiel Ben-Ephraim said that if the Trump administration was indeed not onboard with the Israeli attack, then Netanyahu has essentially sabotaged ongoing peace efforts in West Asia.
'If the reports that Trump was against this attack are accurate, Israel has intentionally sabotaged an important negotiation process and put US assets in the Middle East at risk. If not, this was a very, sophisticated trick to catch Iran unaware,' said Ben-Ephraim.
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