Senior White House officials would prefer that Israel launch the first strike against Iran if military action becomes necessary, according to a report published by Politico, citing two sources familiar with internal discussions in the Trump administration.
According to the sources, senior advisers to Trump believe that, politically, it would be preferable for Jerusalem to initiate a military move before the US carries out its own strike.
The reasoning, the sources said, is not purely military but also political. If Israel were to attack first and Iran responded by targeting US assets, the administration could rally broader American public support for military action by Washington. One source was quoted as saying there is a belief that "the politics are much better if the Israelis go first and alone, and the Iranians respond against us, giving us more reason to act."
At the same time, the two sources said the most likely scenario could involve a joint US-Israeli operation.
The report comes as negotiations with Tehran are set to resume in Geneva and amid deliberations within President Donald Trump's administration over the possibility of military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The report notes that recent polling shows Americans, particularly Republicans, support regime change in Iran but are reluctant to risk the lives of US troops to achieve it. Against this backdrop, Trump's team is weighing not only the security justifications for action, chiefly Iran's nuclear program, but also how a strike would be perceived politically and publicly.
In Washington, officials are said to believe the chances of a diplomatic solution are diminishing. While presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are en route to Geneva in an effort to reach an agreement with Tehran, some of the president's associates reportedly assess that ultimately "we are going to bomb them." The scope of any potential operation, however, remains unclear.
Among the key considerations raised in internal discussions is concern over the depletion of US munitions stockpiles, potentially opening the door for China to act against Taiwan, as well as the risk of American casualties in the event of a large-scale confrontation. One source familiar with the details warned that if the objective were regime change, Iran would likely respond "with everything it has," and noted that many US assets in the region are not protected by systems such as Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. That reality, the source cautioned, increases the likelihood of American casualties and significant political fallout.
Substantial firepower
The report adds that Trump has already concentrated substantial firepower in the region, including two aircraft carrier strike groups and dozens of fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and aerial refueling planes, in a buildup not seen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Meanwhile, the US intelligence community is closely monitoring the possibility of an asymmetric Iranian response against American targets in the Middle East and Europe.
Options under consideration reportedly range from a limited strike designed to create leverage for a diplomatic agreement to a broader campaign targeting nuclear facilities and ballistic missile infrastructure. The possibility of a "decapitation strike" against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is also said to have been discussed.
For its part, Iran continues to insist it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintaining that its program is intended solely for civilian purposes, including scientific and medical use. US officials have expressed deep skepticism regarding those claims, citing Tehran's high levels of uranium enrichment.
