US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a sweeping military strike against Iran, which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, followed weeks of sustained diplomatic pressure from Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to The Washington Post.
Citing officials familiar with internal deliberations, the newspaper reportedly said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led parallel efforts to influence the White House’s stance towards Tehran.
According to the report, Netanyahu maintained a public campaign urging decisive military action against Iran, describing its nuclear programme as an existential threat to Israel. Riyadh, meanwhile, opted for private communications with Trump, warning that American hesitation could allow Tehran to consolidate its regional position.
The reported lobbying came while Washington was still engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran over its nuclear and missile programmes. US envoy Steve Witkoff, with the participation of Jared Kushner, held meetings with Iranian officials in Geneva aimed at easing tensions. However, US officials later assessed that Tehran intended to preserve its uranium enrichment capability, a position the administration viewed as retaining a potential future nuclear option.
Saudi Arabia publicly supported diplomatic engagement and stated that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks on Iran. Privately, however, Saudi officials cautioned that inaction could embolden Tehran, reflecting what analysts described as a balancing act between confronting Iran and avoiding retaliatory strikes on sensitive oil infrastructure.
The decision to strike marked a significant departure from decades of US strategic caution towards Iran. Previous administrations had refrained from direct attempts to topple the Iranian leadership, citing the risks of wider regional instability and the absence of clear evidence of an imminent threat to US territory.
Trump defended the operation as a response to longstanding hostilities between Washington and Tehran, referencing the 1979 hostage crisis and attacks on US forces in the region. He also argued that Iran was nearing advanced nuclear and missile capabilities that posed a direct threat to the United States — an assertion questioned by critics who pointed to earlier intelligence assessments that did not confirm an active nuclear weapons programme.
In remarks following the strike, Trump called on Iranians and elements within the country’s security apparatus to overthrow the government, offering immunity to those who defected. However, the administration has not outlined a detailed post-conflict strategy, particularly in the absence of US ground forces.
Within Washington, senior officials sought to underscore that the operation was not intended to lead to a prolonged military intervention. Vice President J D Vance said the administration did not seek an open-ended conflict, even as lawmakers pressed for clarity on the legal and strategic basis of the attack.
The report suggested that concerns over a possible unilateral Israeli strike also influenced the timing of the US action, with Washington opting to participate rather than manage the fallout of a separate escalation that could endanger American forces in the region.
Analysts reportedly said the operation reflects an attempt to project military resolve while avoiding the costs of occupation, a strategy that has shaped US interventions since the end of the Cold War. They cautioned, however, that air strikes alone have rarely achieved lasting political transformation and may instead heighten the risk of further escalation.
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