The U.S. is not "in a rush" to carry out military attacks against nuclear facilities in Iran, President Donald Trump said, as he refrained from confirming a recent report claiming that he rejected Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"I wouldn't say 'waved off,'" he said, in reference to the Times report that he told the Israelis he would not support strikes.
"I'm not in a rush to do it because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country," he added. "That's my first option. If there's a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran and I think Iran is wanting to talk. I hope they're wanting to talk," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, a report by The New York Times claimed that Trump has declined to support Israel in a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities
Instead, Trump advocated for negotiations with Tehran, the paper said.
Several scenarios had been discussed for attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in order to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb, according to the report. Almost all of them would have required the support of the U.S. military to protect Israel from retaliation by Iran, but also to ensure the success of the mission.
Finally, a plan for a bombing raid was drawn up, which, according to The New York Times report on Wednesday, was to begin in early May and last more than a week.
The Israeli government had expected Trump to support the plans, the report continued. However, several members of the U.S. administration were sceptical, including intelligence coordinator Tulsi Gabbard, who warned against a major conflict with Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance also had doubts.
Trump finally informed Netanyahu of his decision against an attack at a meeting in the Oval Office on April 7. At a press conference afterwards, Trump announced talks between the U.S. and Iran. As before, however, he threatened military consequences if Tehran did not agree to a new deal to limit its nuclear programme.
After the article was published, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement touting the "countless" actions taken against Iran's nuclear program, but did not deny The New York Times' account.
Netanyahu has been leading the campaign against Iran's nuclear program for more than a decade, despite opposition at home and abroad, the statement said.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid hit back, writing in a comment on X that he had spoken out in favour of attacking Iran's oil fields last October.
"Eliminating the Iranian oil industry would destroy its economy and ultimately bring down the regime. Netanyahu was afraid and stopped it," Lapid asserted.
According to media reports, former prime minister Naftali Bennett accused Netanyahu of leaking the information about the foiled attack plan himself.
"The Netanyahu doctrine is to threaten, threaten, threaten and then leak that he meant to [do something] but was prevented from doing it," Bennett said in a statement published by the Times of Israel, adding that "there won’t be another such opportunity [to hit Iran]."
During his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear pact struck between Iran and world powers, which was intended to restrict Iran's nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions. After that, Tehran also stopped complying with the terms of the agreement.
