How ‘Trump walked into Israel’s trap’ by adopting ‘zero-enrichment fantasy’
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, a US-based think tank, says Trump’s demand during Iran nuclear talks that the country could not enrich any uranium set off the chain reaction that led to the current conflict.
“The Israelis knew very well that Iran never would agree to such capitulation [at least short of war]. Predictably, and by design, this position led to a deadlock in the talks. This deeply frustrated the impatient Trump,” Parsi wrote on X.
Then, Israel “convinced Trump to give them a yellow/green light to bomb Iran in order to soften its negotiating stance”, he continued.
“Predictably, bombing Iran hardened their position and prompted Tehran to fight back by targeting Israel with missiles. Predictably, within 24-48h, the Israelis returned to Washington and insisted that the US needed to step in to finish the war.”
Parsi said that “much indicates that this was the Israeli plan from the outset”.
“Had Trump not walked into the Israeli trap and adopted zero enrichment, there would likely have been a framework nuclear deal by now,” he said.
Important to understand how Trump got America into war with Iran despite saying he wanted peace.
The original sin is that Trump walked into Israel's trap halfway through the negotiations when he moved the goalpost and adopted zero-enrichment fantasy, i.e. that his red line was… pic.twitter.com/NFXnlTrRTr
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) June 18, 2025
Netanyahu thanks Trump as ‘great friend’ of Israel
Israel’s prime minister praised US support as Israel continues a heavy bombing campaign across Iran.
“I want to thank President Trump, a great friend of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement. “I thank him for being at our side, and I thank him for the support of the United States in defending Israel’s skies.”
Trump repeating Israeli talking points on nuclear weapons
Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, says Trump’s claim that Iran is weeks away from a nuclear weapon is an example of the US president reiterating Israeli talking points.
“What is important to understand is the Trump administration is based on a single individual: Donald Trump. He’s surrounded by a lot of advisers, but really it’s a one-man show,” Krieg told Al Jazeera.
“The Israelis have been working on him quite extensively for the last couple of days, trying to feed him information and narratives, and I would say this entire idea of there being a secretive intelligence report [on Iranian nuclear weapons] … is a false narrative,” he said.
“I don’t think there is actually tangible evidence to suggest that Iran is days away, but he’s repeating talking points,” Krieg said, adding that Trump appears to be ignoring “the power of words of a sitting president in all of that”.
