Trump Rules Out a Strike on Iran “Today” as Netanyahu Warns Tehran
Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews this afternoon: “The answer is no. There will not be a strike today.” Hours earlier he had asked in a television interview, “do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off?” Benjamin Netanyahu, two days before Israel votes, warned Iran: “Don’t test us. You will suffer disproportionate blows.”
The two leaders pulled in opposite directions on the same afternoon. Mr Netanyahu, speaking at an Arrow anti-missile battery, said Israel had “intelligence signs that Iran and its proxies could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections”; he published no evidence. The Times of Israel reports that the military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, recently saw no operational need to strike Iran before the vote. Tehran’s line was flat: the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said “Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same.” Qatari mediators are reported to be in Tehran, though no official has been named. The president’s pledge covered today only.