US reportedly pushed by Israel to strike Iran, but Trump ‘just not there’

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — Israel is pushing the United States to strike Iran, though President Donald Trump has reservations about launching further attacks against Tehran, a report published Tuesday cited a U.S. official as saying.

Multiple Israeli officials, including Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir and Mossad Director David Barnea, have visited Washington in recent weeks as the U.S. ramps up its forces in the region.

Trump warned Monday that “probably bad things will happen” to Iran if nuclear talks fail, alluding to what he called the “biggest and the best” U.S. Navy warships heading to the region.

Zamir briefed Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine on Israel’s war plans over the weekend, according to multiple reports.

“It’s safe to say that nothing came out of that meeting to change his or the president’s mind on attacking Iran,” an anonymous U.S. official told Axios, referring to Caine and Trump. “It’s really the Israelis who want a strike. The president is just not there.”

Another senior U.S. official told Axios that Trump “really does not want to do it.”

In June 2025, Israel, backed by Washington, launched a 12-day attack on Iran that targeted military and nuclear sites as well as civilian infrastructure and killed senior commanders and scientists.

Iran responded by striking Israeli military and intelligence facilities with missiles and drones before the U.S. carried out a wave of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The attack brought to a rapid end then-ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Tuesday’s report comes as negotiations between the two countries are scheduled to take place this week.

“I just spoke with special envoy Witkoff, and these talks, as of right now, are still scheduled. President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango,” Leavitt told reporters.