Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month

Israel has long planned to strike Iran. However they cannot attack without US assistance. The Trump administration is allegedly negotiating a deal with Iran. But, they’ve time limited the negotiations.

The JCPOA, P1+5, took years to negotiate and Trump during his first administration destroyed this deal which would inevitably lead to the theater of a new negotiation, setting Iran up for an attack, should this new deal not be accomplished in a very narrow time frame.

Covered in 2018 at my former site, moved here as reference and reminder of history

Flashback 2018: Trump Breaks(P5 +1) Risks Increased Middle East Conflict

NYT’s

https://archive.ph/QScpj#selection-4961.0-4975.397

Mr. Trump made his decision after months of internal debate over whether to pursue diplomacy or support Israel

The debate highlighted fault lines between historically hawkish American cabinet officials and other aides more skeptical that a military assault on Iran could destroy the country’s nuclear ambitions and avoid a larger war.

Israeli officials had recently developed plans to attack Iranian nuclear sites in May. They were prepared to carry them out, and at times were optimistic that the United States would sign off. The goal of the proposals, according to officials briefed on them, was to set back Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon by a year or more.

Almost all of the plans would have required U.S. help not just to defend Israel from Iranian retaliation, but also to ensure that an Israeli attack was successful, making the United States a central part of the attack itself.

For now, Mr. Trump has chosen diplomacy over military action. In his first term, he tore up the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration But in his second term, eager to avoid being sucked into another war in the Middle East, he has opened negotiations with Tehran, giving it a deadline of just a few months to negotiate a deal over its nuclear program.

Earlier this month, Mr. Trump informed Israel of his decision that the United States would not support an attack

Israel has long planned to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, rehearsing bombing runs and calculating how much damage it could do with or without American help.

Initially, at the behest of Mr. Netanyahu, senior Israeli officials updated their American counterparts on a plan that would have combined an Israeli commando raid on underground nuclear sites with a bombing campaign, an effort that the Israelis hoped would involve American aircraft.

Some American officials were at least initially more open to considering the Israeli plans. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, both discussed how the United States could potentially support an Israeli attack, if Mr. Trump backed the plan, according to officials briefed on the discussions.

With the United States intensifying its war against the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, General Kurilla, with the blessing of the White House, began moving military equipment to the Middle East. A second aircraft carrier, Carl Vinson, is now in the Arabian Sea, joining the carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.

The United States also moved two Patriot missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as a THAAD, to the Middle East.

Around a half-dozen B-2 bombers capable of carrying 30,000-pound bombs essential to destroying Iran’s underground nuclear program were dispatched to Diego Garcia, an island base in the Indian Ocean.

Even if the United States decided not to authorize the aircraft to take part in a strike on Iran, Israel would know that the American fighters were available to defend against attacks by an Iranian ally.
There were signs that Mr. Trump was open to U.S. support for Israeli military action against Iran. The United States has long accused Iran of giving the Houthis weapons and intelligence, and of exercising at least a degree of control over the group. On March 17, as Mr. Trump warned the Houthis in Yemen to stop their attacks, he also called out Iran, saying that it was in control of the Houthis.

Etc., etc.,

Don’t be distracted by the Trump dog and pony show- The preparations are being made- Patriot missiles, THAADS, B-2 Bombers, the so called negotiations are distractions- We saw the exact same scenario played out before the US brutally attacked Iraq. Recall the ongoing weapons inspection drama? All the while the military machinery, weapons, aircraft carriers were all being put in place? I remember this well. And, of course, there were NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

History may not repeat exactly, but, it does rhyme. What does makes this a bit different this time? The US is not as dominant globally as it was when it bombed Iraq to smithereens. Is this enough to prevent WW3? Let’s hope so.