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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">Trump advisors want Israel to 'attack Iran first,' let US troops get hit to muster public support for war: Report</h1><p class="gmail-">The White House is trying to manage the 'optics' of starting an unprovoked war on Iran</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span style="color:rgb(84,88,94)">FEB 26, 2026 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/trump-advisors-want-israel-to-attack-iran-first-let-us-troops-get-hit-to-muster-public-support-for-war-report">https://thecradle.co/articles/trump-advisors-want-israel-to-attack-iran-first-let-us-troops-get-hit-to-muster-public-support-for-war-report</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="https://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/a4e83802-1328-11f1-bcab-00163e02c055.webp" alt="" width="494" height="278" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>( Photo credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span class="gmail-article-body"><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Senior US officials want Israel to strike Iran before Washington launches a renewed assault on the country, POLITICO</span><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/25/white-house-politics-israel-strikes-iran-00799456"><span style="background-color:transparent"> reported</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent"> on 26 February, to gain more support among US voters for war.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Advisors
to US President Donald Trump are \u201cprivately arguing that an Israeli
attack would trigger Iran to retaliate, helping muster support from
American voters for a U.S. strike,\u201d<i> </i>POLITICO wrote, citing two people familiar with the discussions.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">\u201cThe
calculus is a political one \u2013 that more Americans would stomach a war
with Iran if the United States or an ally were attacked first,\u201d the
magazine added.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">According
to recent polls, a majority of US voters support Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s long-time goal of regime change in Iran, but do
not support risking the death of US troops to accomplish it.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Influential
conservative journalist Tucker Carlson has expressed his opposition to
any attack on Iran, saying it would be done on behalf of Israel.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">\u201cWhat
I really object to, what makes me mad, is when American leaders, whose
job it is to represent Americans, are more loyal to a foreign country
than they are to their own,\u201d he </span><a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-887767"><span style="background-color:transparent">said</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent"> on Saturday.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Trump\u2019s
advisors are therefore considering the optics of how an attack is
conducted and what justification is best to use, such as Iran\u2019s nuclear
program.</span></p><div class="gmail-twitter-tweet gmail-twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"></div> <p><span style="background-color:transparent">\u201cThere\u2019s
thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot
better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate
against us, and give us more reason to take action,\u201d said one of the
people familiar with discussions.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">POLITICO
noted that negotiations with Iran are appearing less and less likely to
succeed; therefore, \u201cthe primary question is becoming when and how the
US attacks.\u201d</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Whether
or not Israel attacks Iran first, as it did during the 12-day war on
the Islamic Republic in June, \u201cthe likeliest scenario may be a jointly
launched US-Israel operation,\u201d the two people speaking with POLITICO
said.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Trump is
under pressure from the Israeli prime minister, who visited the White
House last week to insist that US negotiators demand that Iran give up
its nuclear program, ballistic missile program, and its support for
resistance movements in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and
Ansarallah in Yemen.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0px">A third round
of indirect negotiations between Iran and the US, held in Geneva on
Thursday, concluded after several hours of talks described as \u201cpositive\u201d
by Omani mediators.</p><p style="margin-left:0px">However, reports said Washington stuck to its \u201ctough\u201d demands and is only offering \u201cminimal\u201d sanctions relief. </p><p style="margin-left:0px">Iran\u2019s
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei referred to US demands as
\u201ccontradictory,\u201d adding that \u201cUS leaders should focus on negotiations
rather than sending mixed messages.\u201d</p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Despite
the talks, those closest to the president say that \u201cwe\u2019re going to bomb
them,\u201d one of the people familiar with discussions told POLITICO.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">However,
this raises fears that the US military\u2019s supplies of missile defense
interceptors will quickly be depleted while seeking to stop barrages of
Iranian ballistic missiles on US warships and bases in the region.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">\u201cThere\u2019s
a high likelihood of American casualties. And that comes with lots of
political risk,\u201d said one person familiar with the discussions.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">US
supplies of missile interceptors are already low after defending Israel
during its war against Iran in June and following years of transfers to
Ukraine, its war against Russia.</span></p></span></div></div></div></div>
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