Within the span of about eight hours on Monday, President Donald Trump shifted from expressing hope that a nuclear agreement with Iran was still within reach to warning Tehran’s 9.5 million citizens to evacuate urgently. He abruptly left an international summit to return to Washington for emergency consultations with his national security team.
Trump was expected to reach the White House early Tuesday, facing a critical turning point in his presidency. After five days of airstrikes, Israel has inflicted significant damage on Iran and now believes it could deliver a lasting blow to Iran’s nuclear capabilities — especially with additional backing from the U.S. president.
However, deeper U.S. involvement — such as supplying Israel with bunker-busting bombs to reach Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities or offering other forms of direct military assistance — would carry major political risks for Trump.
