US President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, including preventative airstrikes, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The report came as Israel reportedly draws up plans for a potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, amid growing concern that the Islamic Republic, poised to build a bomb, could rush to finally do so; Iran and its proxies are weakened right now, after more than a year of war against Israel that began when the Hamas terror group in Gaza attacked the Jewish state on October 7, 2023.
Trump has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent calls that he wants to avoid an Iranian breakout during his term in office, the report said — though he seeks a means of stopping the Islamic Republic from going nuclear that does not trigger a new war, especially one in which US troops would become involved, according to the report, which cited transition officials.
The incoming administration is currently working on a “maximum pressure 2.0” plan, the report said, recreating the policy of aggressive sanctions on Iran that Trump pursued during his first term, having pulled out of the Obama-era agreement with the country meant to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sources familiar with the plan told the Journal that there were several different ways military pressure could be used to deter Tehran.
Firstly, they said, Washington could send more forces, ships, and warplanes to the region while also bolstering Israel’s offensive capabilities through the sale of bunker-busting bombs. If that fails, however, the US could take a more combative stance and threaten to use direct military force, the sources were quoted as saying.
