Israel's War on Iran Intensifies as Trump Weighs Joining Attacks
Israel struck more of Iran's nuclear sites and warned its attacks could bring down Tehran's leadership as both sides await US President Donald Trump's decision on whether to join the offensive on the Islamic Republic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that while the military's objective remains the destruction of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, ' we may create the conditions' to help change the government.
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CNN
9 minutes ago
- CNN
White House: Trump to take two weeks for diplomacy before deciding on US strike in Iran
In a White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a statement from President Donald Trump regarding a US strike on Iran.
Politico
11 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump to make a decision on Iran within two weeks
President Donald Trump has set a two week deadline to decide if the United States will strike Iran. 'Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place in the near future, I will make my decision of whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday, reading a statement from the president to reporters. Leavitt said Trump would prefer a diplomatic solution, but the president — in consultation with the National Security Council — is weighing U.S. military intervention to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to a recent POLITICO report. The U.S. is the only country with the military capacity to destroy Iran's nuclear program. 'Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,' Leavitt said. 'All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would of course pose an existential threat not just to Israel, but to the United States and to the entire world.' The comments came at the end of a week of heightened tension in the decades-long conflict between Israel and Iran. As Iran and Israel lobbed rockets at each other, Trump left the Group of Seven conference early and has convened multiple meetings in the Situation Room. The conflict has divided Trump's coalition, driving a rift between an isolationist faction and hawks who have long sought to hobble Iran. Leavitt said Trump has long maintained his position that the U.S. should interfere to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and quoted his comments on the subject from more than a decade ago. 'The president has made it clear he always wants to pursue diplomacy, but believe me, the president is unafraid to use strength as necessary,' Leavitt said. 'And Iran and the entire world should know that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and we have capabilities that no other country on this planet possesses.' Leavitt declined to answer whether the president wanted regime change in Iran, which has been a goal of hawks like Sen. Lindsey Graham and a red line for MAGA isolationists.
Associated Press
14 minutes ago
- Associated Press
A Ukrainian fled to Israel. An Iranian missile shattered her new life
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — When Tetiana Kurakova fled Ukraine weeks after Russia invaded in 2022, she thought she had left behind buildings with gaping holes, streets lined with rubble, and the fear felt while hiding from airstrikes. In Israel, friends helped the 40-year-old makeup artist relaunch her career, and she slowly built a life in the coastal city of Bat Yam. But early Sunday, an Iranian missile tore through the building next to hers, killing nine people, wounding dozens, and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes, including Kurakova's. It was the deadliest single strike from Iran in seven days of conflict, which began Friday when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites as well as top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran has fired some 450 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliation. Days later, staying in a hotel in nearby Tel Aviv with 250 other evacuees from Bat Yam, Kurakova cried when she recalled the strike, which sheared the face off of a multistory apartment building and destroyed many buildings around it. 'It felt like a nightmare. I can't even describe how big it was,' she said. 'I had a panic attack. I just sat on the road, leaned on (my friend) Masha, and started to cry, to sob from all the misery that had happened.' Thousands of Ukrainians fled their country for Israel Kurakova is one of around 30,000 Ukrainians who have made Israel their home since Russia's war in Ukraine began, about half of whom have gained citizenship through their Jewish heritage, according to Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. Kurakova, who does not have citizenship, left home via Poland after about a month spent hiding from constant strikes in early 2022. She ended up in Israel, where she had a number of friends and some professional contacts. Five of the victims in the Bat Yam strike were Ukrainians from the same family who had come to Israel to escape the war and receive medical treatment for a 7-year-old girl who had blood cancer, Israeli media reported. The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel would not provide details on individuals, citing privacy concerns. It said it was working to repatriate the bodies, but faced challenges because Israel's airspace is closed due to ongoing attacks. Still fearing bombs and drones Bat Yam has a large population of residents from the former Soviet Union, many of whom emigrated in a wave in the early 1990s, and was a natural place for many newly arrived Ukrainians to settle. The working-class city is centrally located but the cost of living is lower than in Tel Aviv, next door. But older buildings in such cities — and in Arab towns and rural arras — often lack adequate shelters, though anything built since 1993 is required to have reinforced safe rooms. More than a year after Kurakova arrived in Israel, Hamas attacked the country's south, igniting a war in the Gaza Strip. She recalled being frightened in the early days after the militants' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The fighting was just 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the south, and some nights, she could hear the booms from Gaza. But she wasn't prepared for it to hit so close to home. In the fighting between Israel and Iran, 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds injured. Missiles have struck 40 sites, including apartment buildings, offices and a hospital, according to Israeli authorities. Air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter. Meanwhile, panicked residents of Iran's capital have spent restless nights in metro stations and thousands have fled. More than 600 people, including over 200 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Kurakova said the past few days have brought her right back to the early days of Russia's invasion. 'I don't even stop seeing dreams that I'm hiding somewhere, running from Shahed drones, bombs, and looking for shelter somewhere,' she said, referring to the Iranian-made drones used against both Israel and Ukraine. A choice between two conflicts In Bat Yam, the force of the blast blew out windows and damaged the walls of Kurakova's second-floor apartment. She was able to salvage a few belongings, but because of structural concerns, it isn't clear if she will be able to return home. Some 5,000 Israelis have been displaced across the country after missiles destroyed or damaged homes, according to the prime minister's office. Kurakova's mother, still living in the part of the Donetsk region of Ukraine under Russian occupation, has urged her daughter to leave Israel and move somewhere, anywhere else. Kurakova still hasn't decided what to do. 'I feel terrified inside and outside. I feel terrified by the hopelessness,' Kurakova said, adding that while she had previously taken comfort in Israel's air defense systems, now she wasn't so sure. 'That was the reason I left Ukraine,' she said. 'I didn't understand that it was possible here.' ___ Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
