Trump says the US knows where Iran's Khamenei is hiding and urges Iran's unconditional surrender

Israel "undermined Donald Trump's negotiating position" with Iran and placed the U.S. president in an impossible predicament — both for his diplomatic goals and for his ego, an expert claimed.

Israel's primary goal in attacking Iran was to utterly dismantle its nuclear program and prevent it, once and for all, from producing a nuclear weapon. But Israel has fallen short of that goal — and it won't be able to achieve it without either sparking negotiations with Iran or involving the U.S.

On the one hand, Iran is already blaming the U.S. for Israel's attack — the U.S. helped Israel's Iron Dome defense system intercept Iranian missiles flying into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and it also provided many of the weapons Israel used to strike Iranian targets. Actual U.S. offensive involvement in the conflict is irrelevant to Iran. It comes after Trump was slammed for an alarming White House decision.

Trump cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the strikes, believing — and accurately so — that they would escalate the conflicts already raging in the Middle East.

He also believed that they would harm his negotiating position with Iran as the countries work toward a new nuclear proliferation agreement.

"With its unprovoked war, Israel has undermined Trump’s negotiating position," Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told the Mirror US.

"Support for acquiring a nuclear weapon has surged among Iran’s elite and broader society in response to the Israeli bombings. This has raised the political cost for Tehran to agree to limit enrichment to civilian levels, making a deal more difficult."

Trump did, however, provide his blessing for Israel to go to war with Iran — something Parsi said was unexpected. And it may have had ramifications on America's negotiations with Iran.

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"America’s backing of Israel’s attack — coupled with Trump’s self-congratulatory rhetoric — has led Tehran to believe he deliberately lulled Iran into a false sense of security to boost Israel’s chances," Parsi said. "As a result, what little trust remained in Trump as a negotiating partner has further eroded. And the less trust there is, the narrower the path to a deal."

"Had Trump stuck to his original red line — no weaponization — he might now be on the verge of a historic nuclear agreement with Iran," he added.

On the other hand, "Trump likes winners" and hates losers. And, by asking the U.S. to intervene, "Israel is signaling that it's losing," Parsi wrote.

"It has failed to eliminate Iran's regime or cripple its nuclear program and is now absorbing unexpected blows in return," he said. "Despite inflicting significant damage on the Natanz nuclear site, Israel has failed to penetrate the far more critical and heavily fortified Fordow facility. As a result, the actual impact on Iran’s nuclear program appears limited."

To strike the Fordow facility, Israel will need the help of the U.S., which boasts specialty drones and aircraft that would allow it to strike inside the facility — not just crippling it but utterly dismantling it.

Israel's failures, however, have made it convincing the U.S. to join the conflict and strike at the heart of Iran's nuclear facilities even more difficult, Parsi said — even with Israeli allies in Washington lobbying Trump to enter the war and begin offensive strikes.

So, Netanyahu has turned toward other means of eliciting a U.S. response to the conflict. It began by seeking "a green light for Israel to act," he said.

But, he added, "Seeking America’s blessing to go to war is a far lighter ask than requesting America’s direct military involvement." He noted that "Trump, unexpectedly, agreed to the former" but added that "it would be exceptionally unwise for him to agree to the latter."

Trump was quick to take credit for the success of the strikes after the initial wave. "Impressed by Israel's early success, Trump moved quickly to claim credit for the operation despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio having declared just hours earlier that the strikes were a 'unilateral action' by Israel and that the U.S. was not involved," Parsi said.

Just 18 hours later, however, Iran had completely restructured its chain of command — the strikes killed at least three of its top generals — and activated its air defenses. But "most critically," Parsi said, the country launched four missile barrages at Israeli targets in Tel Aviv, penetrating the country's Iron Dome defense system and landing a direct hit on the country's Ministry of Defense.

"That Tehran could mount such a response just hours after losing several top military commanders was the first clear sign that Israel’s initial success would be short-lived," Parsi analyzed. And that, he said, didn't impress Trump.

"Why would Trump risk American lives, endanger his presidency and join a war he didn't start — just to rescue Israel from a failed and unprovoked conflict? Trump prefers to take credit for victories, not inherit blame for someone else’s potential fiasco," he said.

"Israel’s war of choice with Iran is proving far less decisive than President Donald Trump initially believed when he praised Israel’s performance as 'excellent,'" he added. "What now appears to be an escalating, inconclusive conflict with no clear end in sight will soon force Trump into a challenging decision: end the war — or enter it."

"It is becoming increasingly clear to Washington that Israel’s war of choice is far from a success, and a decisive outcome may not materialize at all."

Nevertheless, Parsi said a deal "remains possible." But achieving one will come down to how quickly Trump can stop Israel. "The sooner Trump halts Israel's war, the better his chances," Parsi wrote.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on Monday that the reopening of discussions between Iran and the U.S. simply requires a phone call from Trump to Netanyahu.

"If President Trump truly believes in diplomacy and wants to stop this war, the next steps are crucial," Aragchi wrote in a public Telegram channel. "Israel must stop its aggression. Without a complete cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue."

"It only takes one phone call from Washington to silence someone like Netanyahu," he continued. "This could pave the way for a return to diplomacy."

Parsi emphasized the importance of Aragchi's ultimatum. "One thing is certain: if Trump and Iran return to the negotiating table, he must quickly abandon the self-defeating zero-enrichment demand championed by Israel and [John] Bolton — the very stance that gave birth to this needless and messy war," he concluded.

The Israeli ambassador to the US has cautioned there are still “surprises up our sleeves” in the fight against Iran — as President Trump issued his own ominous warning that Israel wouldn’t be slowing its attacks anytime soon.

“Expect a surprise later this week,” Yechiel Leiter told Merit TV on Monday.

“Let’s just say the world will understand how serious we are about stopping Iran’s capabilities — and not just in Gaza or southern Lebanon.”

The envoy didn’t elaborate on the plans but noted it would likely make the Israeli’s infamous move to detonate thousands of Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon late last year “look simple.”

“We’ve pulled off a number of surprises. When the dust settles, you’re going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday, that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple.”

Leiter added that Trump wasn’t putting pressure on the Jewish state to curb the fighting.

It came as Trump echoed the warning and urged “everyone to evacuate” Tehran late Monday as Israel appeared to expand its air assault.

“You’re going to find out over the next two days,” Trump said early Tuesday aboard Air Force One when asked if Israel would halt its onslaught.

“You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.”

Trump warned Iran against targeting US troops in the Middle East, saying: “We’ll come down so hard if they do anything to our people. We’ll come down so hard, Then the gloves are off… I think they know not to touch our troops.” 

Trump confirmed reports that he was considering sending Vice President JD Vance and his presidential envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials to discuss an end to fighting — after Witkoff previously led nuclear talks with Tehran.

“I may, it depends on what happens when I get back,” the president said.

Trump said he wanted “a real end, not a cease-fire, an end” and suggested that Iran could resolve the fighting by “giving up entirely.”

When asked if powerful US bunker-busting bombs might be used by the American military to finish off the Iranian nuclear program, Trump said: “I hope their program is going to be wiped out long before that.”