Israel conducted a military operation targeting Iran’s nuclear program on Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump cautioned Israel against one.
Details of the damage Israel inflicted are still being assessed, and Israeli leaders warned their own population immediately after the strike that they could be on the receiving end of a retaliatory attack.
Trump warned that a strike could happen earlier on Thursday but still held out hope for the United States and Iran to reach a diplomatic resolution regarding its nuclear program.
“We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon,” he posted on Truth Social.
Trump didn’t want a strike to compromise a deal. “As long as I think there is agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think that would blow it,” Trump said during an event at the White House. “It might help it, actually, but it also could blow it.”
The U.S. and Iran were set to meet this weekend for the sixth iteration of their nuclear negotiations.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned civilians that a counterattack from Iran could occur, and the military changed its domestic posture, banning recreational activities.
“Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said.
Israeli leaders have long sought an opportunity to take out Iran’s nuclear program and viewed it as an existential threat.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not involved in the attack and warned Iran not to target U.S. forces in the region as a part of any retaliation.
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Israel and Iran are enemies, though they have rarely engaged in direct military operations against one another, instead mostly pursuing covert espionage operations. However, that changed in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that prompted the current instability in the region. Israel has fought many of Iran’s proxies in the region since then, destroying much of Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively.