MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump says he is still making up his mind on whether to strike targets inside Iran. Meanwhile, Europe is trying for diplomacy as Israel and Iran enter their second week of war.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
European diplomats are meeting Iran's foreign minister in Geneva today, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Israel will continue attacking Iran's nuclear sites, even if President Trump decides not to take part. An Iranian human rights group says more than 650 people in Iran have been killed by Israeli strikes, and Israel says Iranian missiles have killed 24 people in Israel.
MARTIN: We have NPR's Daniel Estrin on the line with us now from Tel Aviv to tell us more. Good morning, Daniel.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Morning, Michel.
MARTIN: OK. So this started a week ago when Israel launched these strikes against the nuclear sites and against military officials and nuclear scientists. And now, of course, Iran has responded. And as we've just heard, there have been fatalities on both sides. Now, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a rationale for this when it first started. Has he said any more about why he chose this moment?
ESTRIN: He was asked that question again yesterday on Israeli Public Broadcasting, and he did say more. He said, this all goes back to September when Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon. He was the head of Iran's main proxy in the region. And Netanyahu said that when Nasrallah was killed and Hezbollah largely collapsed, Iran rushed to try to create a nuclear bomb, and Netanyahu claimed Iran was less than a year away. Though there have been debates and differing U.S. intelligence assessments on that.
But analysts in Israel say other political factors are at play here. Netanyahu was under intense domestic pressure to end the Gaza War, to get Israeli hostages back. His government barely survived a no-confidence vote in parliament, and then a day later, he launched the Iran attack, and that gave Netanyahu a major political comeback. The majority of Israelis support the attacks on Iran.
MARTIN: So what more can you tell us about diplomatic efforts now?
ESTRIN: Iran's state media says Iran's foreign minister is meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and the U.K. today in Geneva. The British foreign minister met Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday and said there was a two-week window for a diplomatic solution. And remember, yesterday, the White House said Trump would make a decision within two weeks whether to strike Iran. European diplomats have been calling for restraint but also have said Israel has the right to protect its security and its people. And Israel sees that as Europe actually supporting its attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, which is very different from Europe's explicit calls for Israel to end the Gaza War.
MARTIN: So, Daniel, does Israel need the U.S. to achieve its goal of destroying Iran's nuclear program?
ESTRIN: Well, Netanyahu was asked that question on Israeli TV yesterday, and he said, we will achieve all our goals, all their nuclear facilities. It's in our power to do so. And he said it was up to Trump to decide whether to join in. I spoke to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, who told me Israeli officials believe Israel can destroy Iran's most fortified nuclear site, Fordo, on its own without the U.S. bombing it but that it would just be quicker if the U.S. took part. Experts tell NPR U.S. bunker-busting bombs could do serious damage to the Fordo site, but that wouldn't destroy Iran's know-how to actually build nuclear weapons in the future.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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