Trump Strikes Iran, View From Israel, Iran's Options

0:01The White House is defending its decision to strike Iran over the weekend. and it says destroying Iran's nuclear sites was the singular goal. We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground. What is Congress saying? I'm Leila Fahdil with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Israel says it won't be dragged into a war of attrition. As Iran and Israel continue to trade fire. Meanwhile, Iran is considering how it plans to respond to the U.S. attack. Iran would not be able to manage an escalation with the United States, which even if it retaliated, it will only invite greater and greater American military action.

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3:02The Trump administration is defending its strikes on three nuclear targets in Iran over the weekend, beginning with President Trump's address to the nation following the attacks. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Other world leaders have expressed concern and in some cases condemnation. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is calling for a ceasefire. We have a window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy. If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall.

3:45And Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arochie, spoke to reporters in Turkey. His comments were broadcast by the AP. The U.S. administration holds sole and full responsibility for the consequences of its actions, including the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to self-defense under the principles of the United Charter. The decision for the U.S. to intervene came a little over a week after Israel launched a series of strikes on Iran that prompted both sides to begin trading missiles. We will be looking at the impact, the reaction, and what the consequences may be starting here in Washington, D.C. with NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivram.

4:23She's with us now to talk it through. Good morning, Deepa. Hey, good morning. So what has the White House said since the strike and are they worried about any kind of retaliation from Iran? Well, the president was in Washington all of yesterday, but he didn't have any public events. He did have another intelligence briefing with his National Security Council last night, though. So we really haven't heard much else from the president on this issue. But administration officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a briefing yesterday morning. Vice President J.D. Vance also spoke to several of the Sunday shows defending the president's decision.

4:54Here's Vance speaking to NBC's Meet the press yesterday. We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground. The president has actually been one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East, which is why he did what he did. A very precise, a very surgical strike tailored to an American national interest. And Vance said it would be, quote, a catastrophic mistake if Iran were to retaliate against the U.S. in any way. Iran, though, has said it reserves all options in responding to the U.S. And Iran's parliament also approved closing the Strait of Hormuz, which could impact oil prices.

5:31But that decision is not yet final. And how has the news been playing out in Washington over the weekend? Most congressional leaders weren't even briefed on the attack until after it happened. How have they responded? Well, predictably, Democrats have been extremely critical of the strike. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example, said it was grounds for impeachment. and also predictably most Republicans have stood behind the president. But there have been a few that have said that the White House's decision was unconstitutional because it's Congress that has the authority to approve the use of force, not the president.

6:02Though I will say it's been decades since Congress actually used that authority. So someone like GOP Representative Thomas Massey, he posted on social media about the constitutionality of Trump's decision. And then yesterday Trump went after Massey in a lengthy social media post saying he would campaign to unseat him and called him weak and ineffective. But I will say when it comes to public opinion, though, one poll before the U.S. strike on Iran showed that most Americans think the U.S. military shouldn't get involved in the conflict. In the aftermath of the attack, though, it's probably too soon to tell what public opinion will say.

6:36But one thing to keep in mind is that President Trump is someone who ran his campaign talking about how the U.S. wouldn't get involved in more foreign wars. Just yesterday, though, the president posted on social media raising the idea that there could be a regime change in Iran. And advocating for a regime change could potentially get the U.S. more involved in a conflict that there might not be public support for. Deepa, before we let you go, the president is supposed to leave tomorrow for the NATO summit in the Netherlands. How is Trump's decision going to come up among European allies? How do you think it's going to play out?

7:07Yeah, well, there are some NATO allies who have spoken out about the threat of Iran's nuclear program already. So it's possible that Trump received some support from European allies about his decision to strike Iran. For example, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer posted on X and said that the U.S. took action to alleviate the threat of Iran's nuclear program. But I will say the main focus of the summit will be trying to get NATO members to spend more on their defense, which is something Trump has been really critical about for years. That is. And Paris, Deepa Shivram. Deepa, thank you. Thank you.

7:40Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to reporters yesterday about Israel's war with Iran.

7:50He's saying there that Israel won't be dragged into a war of attrition, but that it also won't end the war until it's achieved its objectives to degrade Iran's missiles and nuclear program. In the meantime, both countries exchanged more fire this morning. For the latest, we're joined by NPR's Hadil Alshalchi from Tel Aviv. Hadil, good morning to you. Good morning. Yesterday, you visited an attack site in Tel Aviv. What did you see there and what did you hear there? That's right. So yesterday, around 7 a.m., Iran's first move after the U.S. bombed its nuclear sites was to fire missiles towards Israel.

8:25I recorded this from outside my home.

8:30So that's a taste of what we hear in Tel Aviv almost every day. Some of those booms are missiles being intercepted. But yesterday, the affluent neighborhood of Ramat Aviv in northern Tel Aviv was hit. I visited the area. An entire residential high-rise building was gutted, shattered glass, crunched under our feet. And people were trying to get back into their homes to collect their belongings. Talking to people here, there is overwhelming support for the war. People say that Iran has posed an existential threat to Israel with its nuclear program for decades and that Israel had to do something about it.

9:05How does Israel assess the impact of what the U.S. has done in Iran? Well, Israel is saying that significant damage was done to the three nuclear sites that the U.S. struck, but it says it's also still assessing that damage. The U.S. said it wasn't sure where Iran's supply of uranium is. The stockpile is stored in small vessels that can fit into a number of cars and then moved around. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said he believes that the stockpile was moved. And then Israeli analysts here say the entire nuclear program has not been destroyed, that Iran likely has the uranium and centrifuges hidden somewhere and that they could develop maybe weapons in secret.

9:45And what might Israel's next moves be? Well, it largely depends on Iran and how it retaliates. But the Israeli military said it is continuing to strike Iranian military targets. It did that this morning. And then there's also a feeling here that Israel wants to find a way to wrap up this war with the help of the U.S. and the U.S. says it's time for talks and diplomacy. There is a fear in Israel that the two countries, Iran and Israel, will just fall into this routine of exchanging fire for a long time, a tit-for-tat that becomes a new reality. Hadil, before we let you go, there was a steady drumbeat last week among Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, about regime change in Iran.

10:24Where is that conversation now? Well, actually, reporters asked Netanyahu about that yesterday, And he said that the goals of this war were to remove Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile threats. That's all he said. Also, President Trump is calling for a deal with this Iranian government. And Vice President J.D. Vance said last night that regime change is not the goal. And then, you know, looking way ahead, Israelis hope that wrapping things up with Iran will also create the impetus to end the older conflict in Gaza. Netanyahu told reporters he's waiting for a response from Hamas, that he hoped the two sides could agree to a two-month ceasefire, negotiate a permanent ceasefire, and bring back the hostages.

11:04That's NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Hadil, thank you. You're welcome. Okay, let's turn to Iran and what it may do in response. And for that, we turn to NPR national security correspondent Greg Myrie. Greg, good morning to you. Hi, Michelle. So just let's start with what Iran is saying it might do. You know, we haven't heard a lot from Iran's top leaders recently. Most of them have not been in public. But Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the elite military unit, released a video overnight with a spokesman saying the U.S. will face, quote, regrettable and unpredictable consequences. He went on to say the U.S.

11:39can start this war, but we'll be the ones who end it. The one figure we have heard a bit from is the foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi. We heard a bit of his tape a couple minutes ago. Now, he's in Russia today, but he spoke Sunday in Turkey. He said his country has the right to respond and, quote, reserves all options to defend its security. What options might he be talking about? Yeah, Iran or one of its proxies could fire a missile or a drone at U.S. troops in the region. There are around 40 ,000 U.S. forces at multiple bases. They are on high alert and well aware that Iran has carried out these kind of attacks in the past.

12:20Iran could also try to disrupt oil shipping in the Gulf. As we heard, Iran's parliament on Sunday approved closing the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 percent of the world's oil goes through the strait every day. And the U.S., though, we should note, has moved a large naval presence into the region, and it is very well positioned to respond. Iran could take its time and wait before attacking a softer civilian target in the Middle East or beyond. Iran has been linked to many terrorist attacks in the past. And Iran also has decent cyber forces and could try to carry out some sort of cyber attack. Okay, so we're hearing that Iran may have a range of options.

12:58But we talked, Hadil spoke earlier about this, this fear in Israel of a back and forth tit for tat. Wouldn't this risk some kind of a back and forth with the U.S.? Yes, absolutely. And this is why Iran is really in a very difficult position at this moment. You know, it's already fighting with Israel and it's been on the losing end of that confrontation for the past 10 or 11 days. So if Iran doesn't respond to the U.S. strike and the U.S. just bombed its most important nuclear sites, then Iran will look very weak. But if it does respond, then it is likely to face an even larger hit from the U.S.

13:35And President Trump has already threatened this. I spoke about this with Iran expert Vali Nasser, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Iran would not be able to manage an escalation with the United States, which even if it retaliated, it will only invite greater and greater American military action. Does Iran have non-military options? For example, could it seek a ceasefire and peace negotiations? Yeah, Michelle, that's theoretically possible, but Iran is in a position of real weakness right now and would have to make some major concessions. Trump says Iran should make peace immediately, but he's also called for unconditional surrender by Iran.

14:17So he seems to think Iran would have to give up a host of U.S. and Israeli demands. Now, Israel has the upper hand in the fighting and shows every sign of wanting to press ahead with that advantage while it has the military momentum. And Iran is really not expressing interest in talks right now saying that there will be no peace negotiations while Iran is under assault. That is. NPR's Greg Meyery. Greg, thank you. Sure thing, Michelle.

14:48And that's up first for Monday, June 23rd. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Leila Faldil. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network, the NPR app. Hear community coverage from your local station, stories from around the world, and podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your app store. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Kalamur, Alex Leff, Andrew Sussman, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Zia Bunch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott and our technical director is Carly Strange.

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