Report: Top Netanyahu aide met Trump in Nov., came out thinking he’d back a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly came out of a November meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump thinking that the latter would back an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities or even order a US attack, according to two sources quoted by the Axios news site.

The sources are said to have spoken to Dermer, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after his meeting with Trump.

According to the Axios report, while some senior advisers to US President Joe Biden have been privately encouraging him to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities before leaving office, such conversations are now off the table.

The report comes amid rising concern that Iran could move toward pursuing a nuclear weapon as it is increasingly pushed into the corner following a series of devastating blows, coupled with the looming inauguration of Trump, who maintained a hawkish stance toward Tehran his last time in office.

Speculation has also arisen that Israel may strike Iran in response to recurring ballistic missile attacks launched against Israel by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who receive arms and other support from the Islamic Republic.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Iran Abbas Araghchi said that Iran was prepared for any future Israeli attacks and warned that such action could spark a wider conflagration.