Trump, Netanyahu quietly planned aggression against Iran since February: Report

US President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly coordinated the June war against Iran months in advance, while orchestrating a media campaign to portray Washington as opposed to Tel Aviv’s plans.

According to sources cited by the Washington Post, Netanyahu met Trump in February and gave him four options for how an attack on Iran could happen.

“The Israeli prime minister first showed Trump what the operation would look like if Israel attacked alone. The second option was for Israel to take the lead, with minimal US support. The third was full collaboration between the two allies. The last option was for the US to take the lead,” the report said. 

The report added that “Trump wanted to give nuclear diplomacy with Iran a chance, but he continued intelligence-sharing and operational planning with Israel.”

One day before the aggression, Trump indicated the US could potentially strike Iran but preferred a diplomatic solution.

“He and Netanyahu maneuvered to keep the Iranians unprepared for what would happen next,” sources added.

In the lead-up to the war, Tel Aviv leaked information that Netanyahu’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and Mossad chief David Barnea would meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Although a round of US–Iran indirect negotiations was scheduled for 15 June, Israel launched an unprovoked aggression on Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13.

“Israel had decided to strike, as the US well knew. The planned diplomacy was a ruse, and officials from both countries encouraged media reports of a US–Israeli rift,” the sources said. 

According to sources, reports claiming that Netanyahu was not aligned with Witkoff or Trump were false. However, this perception was useful, as it allowed the planning to proceed without attracting much attention, the Post said.

Pezeshkian warns of US attempts to use talks to ‘weaken’ Iran against Israel

The Iranian president says Tehran seeks to promote peace but will never bow to the humiliating conditions of the US.

Following Israel’s aggression, Washington proposed a highly restrictive deal demanding Tehran renounce support for resistance movements like Hezbollah and Hamas and replace key nuclear sites with facilities that cannot enrich uranium.

Tehran rejected the proposal, and Trump subsequently authorized US strikes, according to a senior diplomatic source.

The US entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

On June 24, Iran managed to impose a halt to the aggression after conducting waves of successful retaliatory operations.

Hebrew media had also confirmed in June that Trump had publicly opposed an attack on Iran while secretly greenlighting Israel’s aggression.

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, US and Western media reports have frequently framed Washington as “frustrated” with Israel’s actions, despite its military support for Tel Aviv.

Between October 2023 and September 2025, at least 46 Western media reports described former US presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump as being “frustrated” with Israel’s operations.

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