Israeli officials reportedly told President Donald Trump’s administration that they do not want to wait for two weeks and could act alone to dismantle key parts of Iran’s nuclear program.
This comes as multiple B-2 stealth bombers were headed to Guam earlier in the day, multiple news outlets reported, as the US weighs American involvement in the conflict between Iran and Israel.
The B-2’s movement was picked by flight tracking services on Saturday, CNN and Reuters reported. The planes were accompanied by refueling tankers. This comes as the Trump administration is yet to confirm whether the US will join Israel in its war, two officials told the New York Times on Saturday.
They further added that they believed that Washington was likely to enter the war, and Tel Aviv is preparing accordingly. Israeli officials, according to Reuters, told their US counterparts that Israel is ready to ‘act alone’ on Iran.
The US Department of State has meanwhile started evacuating Americans from Israel, Ambassador Mike Huckabee said.
“Our amazing team @usembassyjlm is working around the clock to assist American citizens wishing to depart. I strongly encourage you to fill out the form at the bottom and to take the first option available to you,” he posted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. He had earlier encouraged Americans to take a flight when they can.
Trump set to strike Iran?
Speculation about a potential US strike aimed at Iran’s nuclear program includes the use of B-2s, which could drop 30,000-pound bombs – so-called bunker busters – if Trump decided to target Iran’s heavily fortified uranium enrichment site at Fordow.
The Pentagon and the White House are yet to confirm if B-2s were deployed to or are stationed in Guam. President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals, discounting European efforts to secure a diplomatic solution between Israel and Iran while keeping possible US involvement in the conflict on the table.
“I’m giving them a period of time,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I would say two weeks would be the maximum.”