Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Reza Najafi arrives at a IAEA meeting in Vienna, Austria, on June 9, 2025. (Joe Klamar / AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — The United States is pulling its personnel from some bases in the Middle East amid simmering tensions and uncertainty over a possible Israeli strike on Iran — and Iran’s threatened response.
Israel has long been eager to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and had hoped that President Donald Trump would support such a strike. Instead, Trump has reportedly warned Israel off several times, including during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, saying that he prefers direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
Those talks are still underway, but Trump has increasingly expressed frustration with their pace and direction, indicating for the first time this week that he believes they could fail. At the same time, Netanyahu is increasingly beleaguered at home — with a vote to dissolve his government taking place, though failing, late Wednesday. And a United Nations watchdog group announced on Thursday that Iran had not been abiding by its earlier promises to constrain its nuclear program — spurring a promise by Iran to ramp up the program even more.
The confluence of factors has added to speculation that Israel might be preparing to go forward with a crippling attack even without open U.S. support. Iran is Israel’s avowed enemy and has continued to support attacks through its proxies even as Israel has severely weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Iran and Israel also traded direct fire last year for the first time; a barrage of hundreds of missiles fired from Iran was largely intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, but not before exacting terror on Israelis.
An attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel would prompt a significant military response, if Iran is able to carry one out. Israel severely damaged the country’s air force last year with a bombing raid, though reports indicate that Iran has made up for at least some of the damage since.
Trump has said since announcing the opening of talks with Iran in April that if they fail, “It’ll be a very bad day for Iran.”
Iranian leaders have signaled that they are prepared for conflict. The country’s foreign minister warned on Wednesday that censure by European countries over the nuclear program would “compel Iran to react STRONGLY.” And a top Iranian general warned that it would target U.S. military sites in the region “without hesitation” if Iran is attacked.
“If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” the general said. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”
Asked on Wednesday night why the United States was evacuating its personnel from Iraq and permitting embassy families to leave the region, Trump said, “Well, you’re going to have to figure that one out yourself.”
