JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Throughout this war, President Trump has had a key ally in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They spoke yesterday after the rescue operation in Iran. Israel contributed intelligence toward that mission. To discuss this crucial partnership, I'm joined by NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez and NPR international correspondent Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Hi to both of you.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Franco, I want to start with you, if I can. You were in the room at that press conference. Tell us what you heard.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, he gave a very detailed description of the search and rescue operation for that airman, saying that 155 aircraft were involved and that there was a lot of subterfuge to try and distract the Iranians while they were searching for the pilot. And he emphasized that no American would be left behind. But at the same time, he also doubled down on some of those dramatic threats of strikes on power plants and bridges if Iran, as you noted, doesn't meet a deadline Tuesday that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: And he told reporters repeatedly that he is not worried about being accused of war crimes. When asked specifically about hits to Iranian bridges and power plants, he said Iranians were, quote, "willing to suffer that in order to have freedom."
SUMMERS: Daniel, to you, convincing the U.S. to attack Iran alongside Israel has been a long-held dream for Prime Minister Netanyahu. What does he hope this war will achieve?
ESTRIN: Well, Juana, president - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump's goals for this war have actually shifted throughout the war. On regime change in Iran, Israel and the U.S. both said that they were creating the conditions for Iranian civilians to topple the regime. That's what Trump and Netanyahu said at the beginning of the war. But already, Netanyahu has been admitting in recent days and weeks regime change will take time and may not happen by the end of this war.
And military targets that Israel is targeting have also shifted. Israel began with a focus on degrading Iran's military capabilities, and now Israel says that it's focusing on hurting Iran's economy and bombing some of its biggest industries - its biggest money-making industries - steel and petrochemicals. And, you know, in the past, Trump actually ordered Israel to stop hitting, further, oil fields. Israel did that several weeks ago. But Trump's recent threat to bomb power plants in Iran as early as tomorrow evening - they seem to bring the U.S. far more in line with Israel's tactics here.
SUMMERS: Franco, is President Trump serious about these aims, at the same time that he's acknowledging room for negotiation on a possible ceasefire?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: I mean, he says he's very serious, but at the same time, I do want to note, Juana, that he doesn't - I mean, he says he doesn't know, ultimately, what he's going to do because that will depend on what Iran does. And I should also add that Trump has made similar threats to bomb the power plants before and then later postponed those strikes to allow for negotiations.
And as for the ceasefire the - you know, Trump did not give specifics but said earlier that they are negotiating and have made a significant step. I mean, clearly, Trump is looking to get out of this war. I mean, you can really see and hear that in his escalating rhetoric - the threats, trying to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which he said today was a critical priority to ending this conflict.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything else.
SUMMERS: Daniel, if the U.S. does ramp up its strikes in Iran, as President Trump is threatening, by 8 p.m. tomorrow, is Israel supportive of that? Does the Israeli public support a prolonged conflict?
ESTRIN: Israel's military spokesman said that Israel actually has battle plans for the next three weeks in case we don't see a ceasefire. And in the Israeli public, there is very high support for the war, unlike in the U.S., because Israelis, you know, feel the impact of Iranian missiles raining on their cities, and they - many Israelis say they want Iran's capabilities degraded. But you do see slipping support for the war in opinion polls in Israel. Among Jewish Israelis, at the very beginning of the war, there was over 90% support, and now that has dropped to around 78%. And the longer this war drags on, Juana, the more Israelis talk about just feeling tired. They...
SUMMERS: Yeah.
ESTRIN: ...Get woken up in the middle of the night multiple times by air raid sirens. They're running into shelters every day. And more than that, there's just very little belief that this is going to be Israel's last war with Iran. They think it will just be a matter of time before Iran rebuilds. And, you know, a majority of Israelis in a poll say that Israel and the U.S. actually misjudged Iran's strength. Iran keeps managing to fire missiles at Israel and the entire region.
SUMMERS: Franco, last thing - what about the American public? How would Americans feel about fighting a longer war if it does come to that?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: I mean, they're not too happy about that idea. Polling shows that Americans oppose the war in Iran, and that includes an increasing number of Republican supporters of the president. I mean, a CNN poll released last week showed that Republicans who approve of Trump's job performance dropped to 43%, compared to 52% in January. And Trump seemed to acknowledge that, saying if it was up to him that he'd like more time to go and get control of the oil. But he said - and these are his words - unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home.
SUMMERS: That's NPR's Franco Ordoñez in Washington, D.C. and NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Juana.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
