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The Trump administration asked Israel to carry out a unilateral strike on Iran rather than a joint or US-led operation, Israeli media reported Saturday, though Washington later dropped the request, according to the report.
The claim, published by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, said the request was made amid concern in Washington about reigniting open conflict, and that US officials calculated a joint or American strike would damage President Donald Trump politically ahead of US midterm elections, while a unilateral Israeli strike would instead benefit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli elections.
According to Maariv, the proposal emerged over roughly two weeks of discussions between Israeli and American officials on how to respond to Iran. During those talks, the report said, Washington made clear it wanted an independent Israeli strike rather than a joint operation or a strike carried out by US forces.
The report attributed the American request to concern over Iran’s rapid reconstitution of its drone and ballistic missile capabilities.
Citing recent information, Maariv said Washington was not planning a strike on Iran ahead of the midterm elections and had instead left that option to Israel, though the report said this plan has since been put on hold as well.
Maariv also cited an earlier report by the news site Axios, which said Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had suggested that if Israel were to carry out a strike on its own, elections in the country could be postponed as a result.
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