Messages shared by President Donald Trump and his inner circle on Tuesday suggest that Washington may soon provide more direct support for Israel’s war against Iran. Trump and his allies are rushing to frame the moment as one of historical significance.
In a private text shared by Trump on Truth Social, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee praised the president in near-biblical terms.
“The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you, Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice,” Huckabee wrote. “No President in my lifetime has been in a position like yours. Not since Truman in 1945.”
“You did not seek this moment. This moment sought YOU,” he added.
On Truth Social, Trump continued his stark warnings to Tehran, calling for their “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” and warning that the Iranian Supreme Leader that the United States knows where he is located.
“We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers,” he wrote. “Our patience is wearing thin.”
On X, Vice President J.D. Vance offered a detailed defense of Trump’s approach, responding to “crazy stuff on social media,” likely referring to criticism over the administration’s approach to the war from parts of the MAGA movement, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Vance argued that Trump had shown remarkable consistency in his opposition to Iran ever acquiring a nuclear bomb and that Iran had enriched uranium far beyond the necessary levels for a civilian nuclear program.
But Vance’s account conflicts with recent U.S. intelligence assessments.
A CNN report on Tuesday revealed that American intelligence does not currently assess Iran to be on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon. The U.S. intel report concluded that Iran is not actively pursuing such a weapon and was up to three years away from being able to “produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing,” raising questions about the urgency of the threat that Trump and his allies have emphasized. The report also states that to seriously damage certain Iranian nuclear facilities, Israel will require direct U.S. involvement.
Trump has dismissed his own administration’s intelligence reports, saying that, in his view, Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear weapon.
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