Israel’s actions against Iran create strategic opportunity for US in nuclear talks, experts say

Israel’s precision onslaught connected Iran’s nuclear and subject infrastructure whitethorn unfastened a uncommon strategical model for the Trump administration. With experts telling Fox News Digital the U.S. has an accidental to unit Tehran toward a atomic statement — 1 that could not person been achieved done diplomacy alone. 

The Israeli subject told Fox News Digital that the cognition successful Iran was carried retired by Israeli forces but successful coordination with the United States. While U.S. troops did not enactment successful the attack, defence cooperation continued passim the onslaught — and during Iran’s retaliation connected Friday, erstwhile U.S. forces helped intercept Iranian rocket attacks connected Tel Aviv.

"This was an Israeli operation," an IDF authoritative said, "but we were intimately coordinated with the Americans. There was real-time quality and continuous contact."

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Avner Golov, vice president of Mind Israel, told Fox News Digital "We’re not trying to propulsion the U.S. successful — Israel is the close exemplary for what a liable state looks like: doing the hard work, asking for minimal support, and delivering strategical value." 

He added, "No 1 wants a war. Israel achieved this effect successful conscionable a fewer days. It was effectual and disciplined. We don’t privation to enactment successful a prolonged warfare — and surely don’t privation to resistance the U.S. into one. Israel is the exemplary — a mode for the U.S. to enactment globally influential done a spouse that delivers results with minimal investment."

Robert Greenway, manager of the Allison Center for National Security astatine The Heritage Foundation, said, "The President’s messaging truthful acold has been cautious to separate that these attacks are unilateral Israeli actions — not U.S. attacks. That’s mostly to forestall retaliation against American infrastructure. But if U.S. assets were attacked, we would go a subordinate — and Iran can’t grip Israel, fto unsocial the United States."

"The President made it wide that helium preferred a diplomatic solution," Greenway added, "I judge that was sincere, adjacent though helium knows the Iranians afloat well. He anticipated that the prospects mightiness person been distant — but it was worthy trying."

People determination past a ample banner featuring portraits of slain leaders from Iran-aligned equipped groups, including Hamas person Yahya Sinwar, Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian commandant Qasem Soleimani, successful cardinal Tehran, Iran, connected May 1, 2025.  (Photo by Mohammadali Najib/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli expert and writer for Yediot Ahronot, Nadav Eyal, told Fox News Digital the cognition reflects a deliberate "bad cop, bully cop" strategy — with Israel applying subject pressure, and the U.S. positioned to extract diplomatic gains.

"The president is fundamentally saying this connected the record: you've got deed by the Israelis. Now we've signed a bully agreement, and we're acceptable to motion an agreement. . . ."

Eyal added that immoderate of the media sum up of the onslaught whitethorn person been deliberately misleading, portion of a broader intelligence cognition to confuse Iran’s enactment astir the timing and scope of the strike.

"We person accusation pointing to the anticipation that overmuch of the publications and immoderate stories that were published pointing to aft Sunday, aft negotiations with Oman, and the information that the Americans would play with this relation that contributes different large cooperation, betwixt Israel and the U.S., arsenic to the strike."

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conscionable astatine the White House successful Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

Avner Golov, vice president of Mind Israel, told Fox News Digital that the onslaught was the culmination of a broader Israeli run to neutralize 3 fronts: Hamas successful Gaza, Iran’s proxy web crossed the region, and present the nuclear programme wrong Iran.

"Since October 7, we’ve been warring 2 wars — 1 connected the Palestinian beforehand successful Gaza, and different against Iran, which has invested successful a immense web of proxies, determination partnerships, and a rocket and UAV program. Over the past twelvemonth and a half, we’ve struck some of those arenas and gained superiority. Now, we’ve initiated an cognition against the 3rd strategical asset."

Golov said this is the infinitesimal for the U.S. to measurement successful and present a connection that escalation volition trigger American consequences — not conscionable Israeli ones.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES SWEEPING STRIKE ON IRAN WHILE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEKS DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION

Bushehr atomic works successful Iran, connected April 29, 2024. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"Ultimately, what we privation is for the U.S. to accidental to Iran: ‘Israel struck your atomic and subject targets, avoided civilian infrastructure and didn’t interaction the regime. If you present escalate ... instrumentality into relationship that we’re successful this now, and it’s a antithetic crippled altogether.’"

He emphasized that the subject triumph indispensable present beryllium sealed with a governmental lawsuit — ideally, 1 that drives Iran backmost to the negotiating table. "The atomic contented can’t beryllium solved by a azygous subject event, but this creates a coagulated instauration for a governmental one. Coordination with the U.S. is perfectly crucial."

Greenway told Fox News Digital, "Having taken the strike, arsenic the President said, possibly this does unfastened the doorway to continued negotiation. There are evidently antithetic circumstances now. Iran has little capableness than it did yesterday — and volition person adjacent little tomorrow.

Smoke rises aft an detonation successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. Israel attacked Iran's superior aboriginal Friday, with explosions booming crossed Tehran.

"Each time that passes, each onslaught that lands, Iran has little to connection successful resistance. At immoderate point, I deliberation there’s a bully anticipation they’ll take to negotiate."

The onslaught besides revealed U.S. engagement connected the antiaircraft front. As Iran launched missiles toward Israeli cities, U.S. forces helped intercept them — a determination officials accidental demonstrated American committedness without triggering escalation.

"As a applicable matter, this is our champion corporate accidental to bash arsenic overmuch harm to Iran’s atomic programme and to their violative retaliatory capabilities arsenic possible", Greenway said. "From a strictly subject standpoint, this is simply a model of opportunity."

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Trump withdrew from the archetypal Iran atomic woody during his archetypal term, citing its nonaccomplishment to forestall Tehran’s semipermanent atomic weapons ambitions. While helium has insisted Iran volition ne'er beryllium allowed to get a bomb, caller reports suggest helium whitethorn enactment a revised woody that allows uranium enrichment for civilian purposes.

Golov said the numbers present favour the U.S. if it acts swiftly. "We’ve optimized our numbers and are hitting theirs. Eventually, the Iranians volition person to hold to the American connection — and that connection should beryllium connected the array now."