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17 April 2025, according to The Jerusalem Post
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to refute a report by The New York Times that US President Donald Trump has blocked a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, preferring to negotiate a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear programme. In a statement, the office noted that Netanyahu had led “a multitude of overt and covert operations” that delayed Iran’s nuclear programme for almost a decade.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has led the global campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme for more than a decade, even as others dismissed the threat as a ‘political ploy’ and the prime minister as ‘paranoid,'” the statement said. Thanks to Netanyahu’s persistent stance, despite opposition at home and abroad, Israel has prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
According to the NYT, Trump made the decision after discussions in Washington, where some favoured a military approach, while others doubted the effectiveness of the strike. In the end, Iran agreed to negotiations, and the military operation was cancelled. In early April, Trump informed Israel of his decision, after which Netanyahu visited Washington.
Israel has reportedly developed plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, scheduled for May, which include a special forces raid on underground facilities and bombing. For the operation to succeed, US support, including air power, is needed. The Israeli military, however, has stated that a commando operation is possible no earlier than October, while Netanyahu insists on faster action.
Support for a strike in the Israeli government has grown after a series of Iranian failures in 2024: the failed ballistic missile attack on Israel on 14 April, the destruction of air defence systems in Iran and Syria, attacks on Hezbollah, the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, which cut off Iran’s arms smuggling route, and the destruction of missile fuel production facilities.
High-ranking Israeli officials informed the US of the plan, which included a combined attack with bombing with the support of US aircraft. Israel conducted “bombing rehearsals” and assessed the potential effect of an attack with or without US involvement.
“Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu’s office stressed, avoiding a direct refutation of information about Trump’s blocking of the strike.
