SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
And for a look at how the conflict is playing out in the U.S., we are joined now by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre here in Washington. Hey, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: So we just heard President Trump saying a lot of talking is going on. What more did the president have to say?
MYRE: Yeah, the president went on Truth Social and said, quote, "we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict." Now, in the same posting, he said the U.S. has nothing to do with the Israeli attacks on Iran, and he warned he would unleash the full strength of the U.S. military if the U.S. is attacked. So, in short, Trump is and has been sending this somewhat mixed signal. He's supportive of Israel, and the U.S. military is helping defend Israel. But Trump doesn't want the U.S. to take part in offensive operations against Iran. He doesn't want the U.S. dragged into another Middle East war. So he's trying to take this middle ground. But the longer the fighting goes on, the harder it may be for Trump to maintain this position, backing Israel with the U.S. involved to a certain degree but not wanting to be too involved.
DETROW: Tell me more about that then, especially since the president is saying the U.S. has nothing to do with the offensive things Israel is doing. Tell me more about how the U.S. is helping defend Israel.
MYRE: So U.S. warships were already in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the western coast of Israel, when Israel launched the attack early Friday on Iran. Those ships and the planes on those ships have taken part in the effort to shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israel. Now, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed this in an interview with Fox News today, and he thanked the U.S. for its support. You know, also, the U.S. has provided Israel with air defense for many, many years and last year provided a new cutting-edge system known as THAAD. We don't have all the details of the current fighting, but the U.S. military is clearly actively supporting Israel, just as it did last year when Israel and Iran had some missile exchanges.
DETROW: Say this goes on, say this possibly escalates even more. Could the U.S. and Israel comfortably maintain this level of cooperation, or do you think there's a point where there's friction?
MYRE: You know, there are going to be issues to be worked out. Netanyahu has talked for years about attacking and completely destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, and there's every indication he's prepared for a long operation. In contrast, Trump is saying publicly he wants the fighting to end quickly. And here's one specific example, Scott. Iran has a key uranium enrichment facility built deep inside a mountain in a place called Fordo, south of the capital Tehran. Israel may not have enough firepower in its arsenal to penetrate the mountain and destroy the facility, but the U.S. does have more powerful bunker-busting bombs. If Israel can't destroy this site on its own, it'll be asking the U.S. for help, if it hasn't already. And as we noted, Trump is reluctant to attack Iran directly.
DETROW: Lastly, the Trump administration was - had been negotiating with Iran over the nuclear program. How has that effort - has that effort collapsed at this point?
MYRE: Well, it's certainly off the table for now - virtually no chance it can be revived while the fighting is ongoing. The U.S. and Iran were supposed to have their sixth round of talks today in the Arab nation of Oman. The previous rounds have been described as serious, though no breakthroughs were reached. Trump has been making some very tough demands on Iran. He called on Iran to give up its nuclear program in its entirety. Iran has always rejected this, saying it has the right to use uranium for peaceful purposes such as civilian power plants. So there were obstacles. They're even more difficult now.
DETROW: That is NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thanks so much.
MYRE: Sure thing, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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