A band of neoconservatives close to President Donald Trump’s administration are reportedly trying to sway the president away from brokering a nuclear deal with Iran and instead allow an Israeli strike against Tehran, sources familiar with the matter told Politico Tuesday.
A number of neoconservative figures, such as radio host Mark Levin and GOP megadonor Ike Perlmutter, have been lobbying Trump aggressively to at least allow Israeli forces to strike Iranian nuclear facilities instead of pursuing a deal with the Islamic regime to restrict its nuclear program, sources familiar with the situation — including an unnamed intelligence official and an anonymous Trump ally — told Politico. Talks with Iran have been slow to develop as Tehran remains committed to at least having civilian-grade enrichment while Trump has stated that Iran would not be able to enrich uranium under any prospective deal with the U.S.
“They’re trying to push the president to make a decision that’s not what he wants,” a senior administration official told Politico under the condition of anonymity. “There’s clearly a lobby for war with Iran vs. those who are more aligned with the president, that know he is the one that has been able to bring them to the negotiating table.”
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s actions have been a primary target of neoconservatives’ ire; Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials once more on Friday or Sunday, according to Politico. Some Trump loyalists have kept an eye on NewsCorp mogul Rupert Murdoch’s papers, suspecting that those publications have negatively covered Witkoff in a deliberate effort to derail the negotiations with Tehran.
“Levin and Murdoch are all over Trump all the time — I actually think they hurt their case because I know Trump,” a longtime Trump confidant told Politico. “Once he’s kind of made his mind up, you can come at it later from a different angle, but you keep pressing, he digs in.”
Murdoch has reportedly complained about Witkoff’s involvement in the Iranian negotiations to his close confidants, one source familiar with the situation told the outlet. Trump, however, seems content to let Witkoff work on the issue, though the president may have some level of flexibility in how he perceives the Iranian nuclear situation depending on who he speaks with, according to one source close to the negotiations who spoke to Politico.
““[Trump is] very solid in what he wants and letting Witkoff do his thing,” the source told Politico. “But depending on who he hears from, he may move a little bit.”
Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson accused Levin of trying to muscle the U.S. into a war with Iran by directly lobbying Trump shortly after the reported meeting took place, writing in a post to X that Levin is “once again hyperventilating about weapons of mass destruction” in order to “distract you from the real goal, which is regime change — young Americans heading back to the Middle East to topple yet another government.”
Iran could have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon in around three weeks with its stockpiles of weapons-ready 60% enriched uranium, the IAEA stated in February. Currently, Iran’s weapons-ready uranium stores have grown to 408.6 kg, according to a confidential IAEA report viewed by Reuters.
As the reported struggle over Iranian negotiations plays out in the West Wing, one veteran Trump ally told Politico that Israel is also pushing the administration hard to bless a military strike against Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“The president is not going to support war… But I’m telling you, these guys won’t take no for an answer,” the Trump loyalist told Politico regarding the Israelis. “This is why there’s a breach in the Bibi-President Trump relationship. … Israel isn’t reading the room. The MAGA movement doesn’t support military operations.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Mark Levin could not be reached for comment.
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