'Trump knew about Israel's plan to attack Iran - and the UK could get sucked in'

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Israel has seized its moment - launching more than 200 warplanes at Iran, hitting weapons research sites and perhaps setting back its nuclear weapons ambitions for years.
As the smoke clears from direct hits all over Iran, with nuclear scientists killed and the regime severely humiliated this is the closest the region has come to all-out war in years. Crucially it is possible Israel has dealt a severe blow to Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. It was the most telegraphed and devastating Israeli military operation in decades but it has shaken the Middle East balance of power from its axis, seriously hitting Tehran.
And although it has come as no great surprise it marks a major turning point in Iran's history as it decides whether to declare all-out war on Israel and prompt a much wider conflict. This attack could also escalate the possibility of Iranian-backed covert missions against the west, including the UK, which is a marked ally of both the US and Israel.
Sources suggest Israel would have attacked Iran's nuclear programme sooner but its Mossad intelligence agency was busy placing agents deep within Iran. Nevertheless, variations of this attack have been wargamed for years by Israel and even the US whose conflict planners have regularly updated blueprints for war with Tehran.
But military planners in Tel Aviv calculate that with Lebanese Hezbollah to the north crippled and Hamas in Gaza on the run there was no better time to hit Iran. Also it has been clear for some time that Iran was proceeding towards enriching Uranium to weapons-grade levels.
With its sworn ambition to end Israel the attack was inevitable and the west will calculate that stopping Iran getting rid of Iran's nuclear weapons plans, if it has, was a good idea.
And losing so much proxy military power to Israeli attacks in the past few years has meant Iran's response has been severely limited but it could still mobilise a million troops.
There has been speculation that Israel launched some of its attacks from within Iran, perhaps using Mossad-trained dissidents to target sites, personnel for assassination and mark key weapons depots.
The key to all of this is will be the Iranian response - thus far more than 100 explosive drones and possibly even ballistic missiles sent back in revenge - elicit an overt US involvement?
And any US involvement will also likely suck the UK into a conflict and increase the risk of terror attacks across Europe, with Britain certainly in Iran's crosshairs.
There is no doubt that the US, behind the scenes, will have been deeply involved in intelligence sharing with Israel in the build-up to this huge escalation.
In recent days America has quietly been withdrawing assets and people from diplomatic missions from sensitive parts of the Middle East. It is thought Israel has killed at least three of Tehran's top military commanders, a number of nuclear scientists and there are suggestions civilians have been killed.
But as more than 100 weapons make their way towards Israel, prompting air-raid sirens throughout the country, the world is watching. The Iranian regime will feel it has to respond but the huge question is how much? A much bigger response could trigger a US involvement and Tehran does not want that.
This morning senior defence sources have told me so far the UK military is not involved in defending Israel and was not involved in the attacks on Iran.
Interestingly the US and Iran were in talks over its nuclear attempts and just hours before this attack tension over a suggested collapse in negotiations had receded.
It is impossible to imagine the US was not told about the attack on Iran beforehand and perhaps Donald Trump even endorsed it, having been briefed about how big it was going to be.