While U.S. President Donald Trump is considering whether the United States should get involved in the Israel–Iran war, European countries have emphasized the importance of dialogue.
If the U.S. joins Israel’s recent attack aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, there is a risk that the war could spread across the entire Middle East.
Though Trump has also called on Iran to come to the negotiating table, he insists that Iran must surrender unconditionally.
Iran, which has been continuously under attack from Israel, is also signaling its willingness to engage in dialogue. However, it has refused to surrender unconditionally as demanded by Trump.
Amid this tense situation, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — countries that maintain good relations with both Israel and the United States — are set to hold talks with Iran on Friday. The foreign ministers of the three European countries and Iran will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
President Trump has given himself a two-week deadline, starting Thursday, to decide whether the U.S. will participate in the Israel–Iran war. The European countries’ talks with Iran are taking place the day after this announcement.
Since Israel launched an attack last week aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the two countries have been engaging in continuous attacks against each other.
In recent days, Israel has targeted and damaged nuclear facilities in Natanz and several other locations in Iran. However, it has not been able to damage the facility in a place called Fordow, which is built deep beneath a mountain in a heavily fortified bunker, hundreds of feet underground.
Israel has requested assistance from the United States to destroy the nuclear facility at Fordow.
It is believed that only the U.S. has the capability to destroy that facility without using nuclear weapons. To do so, the U.S. would need to use its largest conventional bomb — the GBU-57, also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator — which weighs nearly 14 tons. This is a powerful “bunker-buster” bomb capable of penetrating fortified underground structures.
However, experts say even one of these bombs would not be enough. Multiple bombs would need to be dropped repeatedly on the same target to effectively destroy the facility.
Israel does not possess the bomber aircraft required to carry such heavy bombs. Only the U.S.’s advanced B-2 stealth bomber is capable of carrying and deploying the GBU-57. For this reason, Israel has sought American help to destroy the Fordow facility. President Trump is believed to be willing to assist, but the U.S. has not yet launched an attack.
