Israel should hit Iran’s nuclear facilities: Trump

The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina on Friday, referred to a question posed to US President Joe Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.

“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later,” Trump stated.

A top US State Department official told CNN on Friday Israel has not given assurances to the Biden administration that targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities is off the table in retaliation for the Iranian ballistic missile strikes earlier this week.

The official added that it is “really hard to tell” if Israel will use the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks to retaliate.

“We hope and expect to see some wisdom as well as strength, but as you guys know, no guarantees,” the official added when asked by CNN if Israel has assured the US that Iran’s nuclear sites are off the table.

US officials have voiced support for Israel responding to Iran’s missile attack earlier this week, with multiple officials publicly saying there must be consequences. At the same time, officials have also voiced concerns about a regional conflagration as they grapple with an increasingly volatile Middle East.

President Biden said earlier this week the US would not support Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden stated at a press briefing Friday.

US officials also do not yet have clarity as to when Israel’s response will be decided upon, or enacted.

On Friday, Biden opposed Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying: “If I were in their shoes, I would be thinking about other alternatives than striking Iranian oil fields.”

The president added that US officials are in touch with their Israeli counterparts “12 hours a day”, noting that Tel Aviv was “not going to make a decision immediately”.

He also stressed that sanctions on Iran are “under consideration right now”.

On Tuesday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles on Israeli military and intelligence facilities in a retaliatory operation, setting off sirens in several areas of the occupied Palestinian territories. Flares and missiles were visible in Tel Aviv’s sky, with explosions reported in other areas.

The Iranian operation was carried out in response to the assassinations of several key figures, including Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC announced it has fired tens of ballistic missiles at vital military and security Israeli targets.

It added that 90 percent of the Iranian missiles fired at Israel have successfully hit the targets, including the “strategic centers” in the occupied territories.

Iranian officials have warned that Tehran would serve potential further aggression by the Israeli regime against the country with a harsher response.