Israeli officials believe the United States will join the military attacks on Iran in the "coming days," after the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the president approved the operational plans and Bloomberg News said American strikes are set to begin as soon as this weekend.
In the United States, the debate over the possible price to the U.S. if it joins the fighting was intensifying.
U.S. President Trump speaks about the U.S. joining attacks on Iran
(FoxNews)
According to CNN, senior administration officials argued that the 2020 American assassination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Qassem Soleimani did not cause a regional escalation but the New York Times claimed Iran was expected to accept U.S. President Donald Trump's terms to renew negotiations and cautioned against repeating past mistakes after the U.S. expected the 2003 war in Iraq to end quickly but it cost over 4,000 American lives and lasted some 9 years. The war in Afghanistan was also prolonged and costly, lasting 20 years and exacting a heavy price.
If the U.S. joins the offensive on Iran's nuclear program, it would not be with boots on the ground, unlike previous wars. B-2 bombers would deliver 13-ton bombs on the nuclear facility in Fordow, which is dug in deep underground, and may destroy the vast halls housing advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges that have been in the U.S. military's crosshairs since they were revealed to the world in 2009 by the United States and its Western allies who then accused Iran of deception.
According to the Times, administration security officials have given the option of bombing Fordow more consideration, debate and preparation than any previous military operation. Military and geology experts told the publication that bombing the underground facility was possible but it would come with some expected and some unforeseen risks. "There's a long list of things that could go wrong," an official told the newspaper.
One concern is that a B-2 bomber would be shot down over Iran, despite Israel's successful strikes disabling most Iranian air defenses. There could also be miscalculations and perhaps the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) or bunker-busting bombs would not penetrate far enough to be able to reach the facility. IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was there and knows it is nearly a kilometer deep.
But many experts agree that the real danger could come after the U.S. succeeds in destroying Fordow.
Iran repeatedly has warned that if the U.S. joins the Israeli attacks it would target American bases and assets in the region. They are all within range of Iran's ballistic missiles and this could lead to further escalation if the Iranian response is too severe and American troops are injured or killed. Then Trump will be forced to retaliate with further force, leading to the risk of entanglement in Iran.
Iran could also respond to an American attack using other means, including cyberattacks or terrorism. It also possesses a large arsenal of short-range missiles that could target oil tankers, making maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf too dangerous.
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Some in the American media fear that they are not being given accurate information from the White House and not all risks are being divulged. Democrats in Congress demanded that a decision be subject to congressional approval but conceded that they are unable to force the administration to comply.
The New York Times said that the Israeli attacks showed Iran's leaders that they must rush toward nuclear capability and do so in secret, just as North Korea had done in the past and today has at least 60 nuclear devices in its arsenal, ensuring that no country in the world would consider a similar attack on Pyongyang.
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Satellite image shows the damage to the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran after IDF strikes
(Photo: © 2025 PLANET LABS PBC)
“Nuclear weapons can be stopped through force — the Syrian program is a good example,’’ said Gary Samore, who was the Obama administration’s coordinator for weapons of mass destruction when the existence of the Fordow plant was made public, told the New York Times.
"Trump must decide in the next few days whether Israel’s attacks on Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility, and its bombing of workshops where new centrifuges are made and laboratories where weapons research may have been taking place, are sufficient to set back the Iranian program."
But the president does not want to be accused of missing a historic opportunity of pushing Iran's nuclear program back years. “If this war ends and Fordow is left intact,” Samore said, “then it wouldn’t take long to get this going again.”