The US and Iran agreed on a shaky, 10-day ceasefire that is set to expire on Wednesday unless talks mediated by Pakistan reach an agreement for a longer truce.<\/p>\n
\t Trump also said in the post that \u201cthe results in Iran will be amazing,\u201d which came as the United States prepared to resume negotiations in Pakistan, although Iran was undecided.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if\u00a0Iran\u2019s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart,\u00a0Iran\u00a0can have a great and prosperous future!\u201d\u00a0Trump\u00a0wrote.<\/p>\n In the lead-up to and throughout the seven-week war, Trump has faced criticism from the left and from some of his own supporters that he followed Israel\u2019s lead in launching the conflict.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, The New York Times revealed<\/a> the details of a high-stakes pitch Netanyahu was allowed to give in the White House Situation Room in February, before the strikes began. There, he managed to sell Trump on a range of predictions, which have largely not panned out, regarding how swiftly a war with Iran would go.<\/p>\n While Trump\u2019s CIA chief and secretary of state would later characterize Netanyahu\u2019s regime change prediction as \u201cfarcical\u201d and \u201cbullshit,\u201d the president and many of his advisers were convinced that Iran\u2019s leadership could be taken out and that its military arsenal could be destroyed, according to the report, which cited extensive interviews with administration officials conducted on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Days after the war started, US Secretary of State Rubio appeared to publicly state that Israel forced Washington\u2019s hand by saying<\/a> that a key reason America launched strikes against Iran was that it received intelligence that its assets in the region would be targeted in response to an Israeli attack. He later stressed that the joint attack on Iran \u201cneeded to happen\u201d in any case.<\/p>\n \t Three weeks into the conflict, the head of the United States\u2019 National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent, resigned from his post<\/a>, asserting that Trump was maneuvered by Israel into attacking the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n Independent senator Bernie Sanders said, \u201cNetanyahu wanted war with Iran. Trump gave him one,\u201d while former vice president Kamala Harris last week asserted that Trump \u201cgot pulled into\u201d the war by the Israeli leader.<\/p>\n Right-wing pundit and conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson has also stated that the war \u201chappened because Israel wanted it to happen\u201d and that the US committed troops to the conflict because Netanyahu \u201cdemanded it.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu has repeatedly derided<\/a> the idea that he dragged the US into war with Iran, calling it \u201cfake news,\u201d and insisting that Trump only bases his decisions on \u201cwhat he thinks is good for America.\u201d<\/p>\n Opinion polls show the war is broadly unpopular in the US, although views differ along partisan lines. A Reuters\/Ipsos poll published on March 31 found that 60 percent of Americans opposed US military strikes on Iran, with 74% of Republicans supporting the action, compared with only 7% of Democrats.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 18, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/ AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20260401__A6G784L__v2__HighRes__IranIsraelUsWar-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tSmoke rises from the site of a strike in Tehran, Iran, on April 1, 2026. (AFP)<\/p>\n
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