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Senior advisers to President Trump are pushing for Israel to launch the first strike against Iran before any full-scale U.S. assault.


The private calculus is explicit: an Israeli attack would provoke Iranian retaliation against American targets, creating the political conditions needed to rally U.S. public support for direct American intervention.


Recent polling shows Americans back regime change in Iran but refuse to accept U.S. casualties unless the country or an ally is struck first.


One person familiar with the discussions stated verbatim, “There’s 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.”


With diplomatic hopes fading fast, the central question inside the administration has shifted to when and how the U.S. bombs Iran.


While a joint U.S.-Israeli operation remains the most probable path, key voices closest to Trump insist the optics improve dramatically if Israel acts alone initially.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed the White House last week to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles and proxy networks.


Simultaneously, Trump’s lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner head to Geneva Thursday for one last attempt at a deal.


Yet insiders confirm the prevailing view is “we’re going to bomb them.”


A regime-change scale attack would expose U.S. assets across the region to full Iranian retaliation, with no Iron Dome protection, guaranteeing American casualties and the exact political trigger advisers now seek.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/25/white-house-politics-israel-strikes-iran-00799456