The world is waiting for President Donald Trump’s decision on whether the U.S. will join Israel in military action to wipe out Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
As he weighs his options, Trump is being squeezed by different pressures from forces at home and abroad.
The president huddled with advisers in the Situation Room twice already this week, and was set to do so again on Thursday. He approved attack plans presented to him but was waiting to see if Iran would be willing to negotiate and hasn’t made a final decision, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Moving ahead with military action would be a departure from Trump’s “America First” campaign pledge to keep the U.S. out of foreign entanglements. The possibility he may do so has prompted a sharp rift in his Republican base of supporters.
Hawkish members of the GOP are pushing for Trump to take aggressive action rather than pursue diplomacy. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, during an interview on Fox News earlier this week, said the U.S. needs to “finish the job” with Iran.
Meanwhile, hugely popular MAGA media figures like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon who helped propel Trump’s movement in 2016 and in 2024 are calling for restraint.
A poll out on Wednesday from Fox News found voters split on the issues Trump is facing. A majority of registered voters surveyed believe Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program would result in more danger. But a majority also believes Iran poses a national security threat to the U.S.
Trump, in response to the disagreement among his base, says his supporters are “more in love” with him than ever.
Democrats in Congress are raising their own concerns over Trump’s war power authority. Sen Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, moved to limit Trump’s powers by introducing a floor resolution that would require approval from Congress before the U.S. could get involved in a military conflict with Iran.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House as members of Italian soccer club Juventus pay a visit in Washington, June 18, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
On the world stage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to press Trump to join the fray, arguing it’s in America’s interest.
“Today, it’s Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it’s New York. Look, I understand ‘America First’. I don’t understand ‘America Dead.’ That’s what these people want,” Netanyahu told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl last week.
Netanyahu pointedly added, “We’re not just fighting our enemy. We’re fighting your enemy. For God’s sake, they chant, ‘death to Israel, death to America.’ We’re simply on their way. And this could reach America soon.”
Iran, however, and its allies (Russia and China) are pushing against U.S. involvement. Tehran has warned any action would be met with retaliation.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday: “The Americans should know, the Iranian nation will not surrender, and any intervention by the U.S. will be met with a forceful response and irreparable damage.”
“War will be met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike. Iran will not submit to any demands or dictates,” Khamenei said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, testifying before a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, said the U.S. military was “ready and prepared” to carry out any decision Trump will make.
Hegseth told lawmakers that Trump “has options and is informed of what those options might be, and what the ramifications of those options might be.” He also said that “maximum force protection at all times is being maintained” for American troops in the region.
Trump offered a clue into his decision-making process as he took reporter questions in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon.
“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change, especially with war,” the president said.
