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Trump Urged to Oppose Israeli Prep for 'Disastrous' Strike on Iran Nuclear Facilities
"Trump must take action to course-correct on negotiations aimed at preventing war and Iranian proliferation," the National Iranian American Council.
May 21, 2025
Tuesday night reporting on intelligence that Israel is preparing to possibly strike Iranian nuclear facilities, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration pursues a diplomatic deal with Tehran, sparked calls for the United States to oppose any such attack.
CNNreported on Israel's preparation for a potential strike, citing multiple unnamed U.S. officials who are familiar with the latest intelligence but also "caution it's not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the U.S. government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act."
In a signal of how seriously the international community is taking CNN's reporting, oil prices jumped on Wednesday. According toBarron's: "Brent crude, the global standard, was up 0.9% at $65.95 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1% to $62.63 a barrel. Prices were paring their gains, after initially rising as much as 3%."
While the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not comment and CNN is awaiting a response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the U.S. National Security Council, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) weighed in with a Wednesday statement.
"This is not the first time that Israel is threatening to attack Iran—unilaterally and without justification, to disastrous consequence," said NIAC. "What is of critical importance is ascertaining why Israel's government is making this threat now. More likely than not, the radical Benjamin Netanyahu government sees an opportunity to press the Trump administration to take a hardline position in the Iran nuclear talks that will ensure their collapse and America's movement toward a preventable and disastrous war."
"It should also sharpen choices for the Trump administration," the group continued. "President Trump must take action to course-correct on negotiations aimed at preventing war and Iranian proliferation. The entrenching stalemate has largely been driven by far-reaching American demands that ignore strong alternatives that could weather Iran's own fierce domestic politics."
NIAC stressed that "there is a path to avoiding war, but it will require compromise and making sure that Israel is not leading America into a war that would have disastrous and generational consequences for the U.S. and Middle East as a whole."
Since October 2023, Israel's U.S.-backed assault on the Gaza Strip—the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case—and American strikes on Yemen have escalated fears of the United States participating more directly in a regional war.
Despite Trump ditching a previous Iran nuclear deal during his first term, his second administration now claims it is aiming to work out a deal. However, whether the two sides can come to a new agreement remains to be seen.
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, toldABC News' "This Week" on Sunday that the president "wants to solve this conflict diplomatically and with dialogue, but "we have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability. We've delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them."
As CNNdetailed Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he does not expect nuclear talks with the United States to "reach a conclusion" and calledthe U.S. demand that Iran not enrich uranium a "big mistake." Still, according to Witkoff, there may be another round of negotiations in Europe this week.
Michael Hall, communications manager at the D.C.-based think tank Defense Priorities, suggested that the U.S. government should negotiate directly with Tehran, pointing to contact with the Kremlin, which has included calls between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Witkoff's meeting with Russia's leader—who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"The U.S. should make clear we are committed to avoiding a war and will not assist in any strike on Iran," Hall said on social media Tuesday. "If Trump can send Witkoff to Moscow, he can send Witkoff to Tehran. If Trump can call Putin, he can call the ayatollah. A good chance to prove American commitment to diplomacy."
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What’s Behind Trump’s Decision to Cease Bombing Yemen?
The U.S. president appears to be heeding Saudi wishes ahead of a visit to Riyadh, with a potential eye on negotiations with Iran as well.
May 07, 2025
Middle East Eye reports that Saudi Arabia pressured the Trump administration to cease bombing Yemen in advance of his planned trip to the Kingdom next week because such raids would be an embarrassment for him and his host. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was convinced that the Houthis were sincere in their new pledge to cease targeting shipping in the Red Sea.
The subtext here is that people in the region believe the U.S. is bombing an Arab country on behalf of Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and to protect Israel from repercussions for its Gaza genocide. Attacking the Houthis, who are not otherwise popular, on these grounds while Trump is in Riyadh would make it look like Saudi Arabia is also running interference for the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Houthi strategy of hitting out at Israeli interests has helped rally the people around them and lends them some regional popularity.
Both the Biden administration and the Trump administration have bombed Yemen in reaction to the Houthi targeting of Red Sea shipping and attacks on Israel in sympathy with the people of Gaza, against whom Israel has conducted serial atrocities.
MEE says that the Saudis have requested that Trump not bring up normalization with Israel on this trip, since Riyadh is determined not to recognize Israel until there is a firm prospect of a Palestinian state. Unlike the UAE and Bahrain, which did recognize Israel, Saudi Arabia has a fairly large population of citizens, most of whom would be extremely upset to see their king reward the Israelis for their Gaza atrocities by establishing diplomatic relations.
The Houthis do not appear to have made any pledge to cease targeting Israel with missiles, and the Israeli government was reportedly blindsided by the Trump move. Trump kept them out of the loop, much to their dismay. On Tuesday, Israel itself bombed Sanaa in retaliation for the Houthi missile attack Sunday on Ben Gurion Airport.
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, confirmed the White House announcement of the cessation of hostilities. Oman has been a go-to mediator for conflicts in the region, and is helping negotiate a Trump deal with Iran.
A senior Houthi official, Politburo member Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, expressed cautious optimism, saying that the American pledge to halt bombing the small country on the southwest edge of the Arabian Peninsula would be “field tested.”
Both the Biden administration and the Trump administration have bombed Yemen in reaction to the Houthi targeting of Red Sea shipping and attacks on Israel in sympathy with the people of Gaza, against whom Israel has conducted serial atrocities. Trump alone has ordered 800 bombing raids on the desperately poor country. Yemen is the only Arab country to have reacted against the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Its methods, however, have involved war crimes, since it has attacked civilian container ships, most of them not actually connected to Israel, and has attacked civilian targets in Israel—or has been unable to control its missiles, endangering civilian life—which is a war crime.
Former National Security adviser to the Iranian parliament, Heshmetollah Felahat, said Tuesday that the cessation of U.S. bombing of Yemen was connected to U.S.-Iran negotiations and was a way for Trump to block attempts of Netanyahu to draw the U.S. into war with Iran. He said that the chances of successful U.S.-Iran negotiations just went up.
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US-Iran Talks Delayed for 'Logistical Reasons' After Hegseth Social Media Threat
"With sufficient will, the negotiations can reach the finish line and avert the risks of a disastrous war and Iranian weaponization of its nuclear program," said the National Iranian American Council's policy director.
May 01, 2025
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced on social media Thursday that a fourth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks planned for this coming weekend has been postponed—just hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly threatened Iran.
However, al-Busaidi, who has mediated the previous rounds of negotiations, did not address the U.S. threat. He claimed on social media that the delay was due to "logistical reasons" and "new dates will be announced when mutually agreed."
As The Associated Pressreported:
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being "postponed at the request of Oman's foreign minister." He said Iran remains committed to reaching "a fair and lasting agreement."
Meanwhile, a person familiar with the U.S. negotiators said that America "had never confirmed its participation" in a fourth round of talks in Rome. However, the person said the U.S. expected the talks to occur "in the near future." The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
During U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, he ditched the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration. After Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, Vice President JD Vance had to cast a tiebreaking vote to confirm Hegseth, whose tenure as Pentagon chief thus far has been marred by controversy and accusations of ineptitude.
Hegseth—a former Fox News host who faces mounting calls to resign after sharing U.S. plans to bomb Yemen in multiple chats on the commercial messaging application Signal—addressed Iran's support for the Houthis, a Yemeni group, in a late Wednesday social media post.
"Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to the Houthis," he said. "We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of—and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing."
Hegseth's initial post was from his Pentagon account. He also
shared it on his personal account with a screenshot of a mid-March Truth Social post in which Trump railed against Iran and the Houthis.
In response to Hegseth, journalist Ryan Grim asked, "This because our jet fell off our boat?"
A $60 million U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet recently went overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman after the aircraft carrier turned to evade Houthi fire, according to a U.S. official.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.)—who has a history of joining with Democrats to criticize military action without a declaration of war, particularly in Yemen—responded: "I support this administration, but the secretary of defense doesn't have the constitutional authority to declare war on a sovereign country. A planned military attack on Iran is an act of war and requires a vote of Congress according to the U.S. Constitution."
Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, said in a statement that "Trump entered office with a deficit of effective U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East, not a deficit of threats or bombing. Where the administration has led with diplomacy and sustained that focus, they've delivered some positive results. Where the administration has let bombs lead the way, like the Biden administration before them, we've seen security worsen and sustainable solutions move further from reach."
"If there was a military solution to security in Yemen, Saudi Arabia would have emerged victorious in its conflict a decade ago, and the Biden administration would have halted the Houthis' targeting of shipping in the Red Sea last year," he continued. "Of course, there isn’t a military solution in Yemen, which makes it all the more befuddling that the Trump administration thinks it can bomb the Houthis into submission when this approach has been tried and failed repeatedly."
"Secretary Hegseth tweeting at Iran and threatening 'CONSEQUENCE' for its ties with the Houthis won't alter these dynamics, and risks leading the U.S. into far more damaging blowback against a more capable adversary," Costello stressed. "The U.S. and Iran need to resolve security challenges through diplomacy, not threats and military escalation. This is true on the nuclear issue, where we encourage the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations as soon as possible. The pace that they have set on negotiations has been difficult to sustain, but not impossible."
"With sufficient will, the negotiations can reach the finish line and avert the risks of a disastrous war and Iranian weaponization of its nuclear program," he added. "Likewise, the U.S. should halt its backfiring bombing campaign in Yemen and find a way to bring all the relevant actors to the negotiating table—simultaneous with efforts to restore a cease-fire in Gaza that frees the remaining hostages and ensures urgent aid for the devastating humanitarian crisis on the ground."
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