Will Trump Join in Israel's Push for Iran's Total Surrender?

US military is building up in the Middle East, while US President gets critics in line

- Jonathan Eyal

LONDON - A week since Israel launched its strikes on Iran, all eyes are now focused on whether the US will join the war by administering the decisive blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities.

President Donald Trump is enjoying the suspense he has created around his future actions. "I may do it. I may not do it. Nobody knows what I am going to do," he told journalists on June 18 as he supervised the planting of a pair of massive flagpoles on the White House lawn in Washington.

At least in theory, there is still some scope for diplomacy to bring the current fighting to a halt. Iranian officials are darting in and out of Oman, the neighboring Gulf state most involved in mediating between Iran and the United States.

Yet, it is clear that all the key protagonists in this conflict—Israel, Iran, and the US—are now being forced to take far-reaching decisions under significant time constraints.

It is equally clear that the Americans and Israelis are no longer aiming just to reduce Iran's nuclear and broader military capabilities; they seek Iran's total surrender.

The chances of a US intervention in the conflict remain very high.

As he ordered his first strikes on Iran on June 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still unsure of the extent and duration of the US support for Israel's operations.

Although the Israeli leader had gained Washington's tacit approval for the action, Mr. Trump still appeared to believe that a limited Israeli attack would be followed by Iran's swift return to diplomatic negotiations with the US, which have been held on and off since April.

That was why officials in Washington were initially at pains to describe Israel's offensive as "unilateral action," in which the US was not and supposedly will not be involved in.