President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan to attack Iran with US military support, which was pitched with a timeline of as soon as next month, in favor of seeking diplomacy with Tehran, The New York Times reported late Wednesday.

The report indicated Israel was seeking significant American support for preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, with aerial bombings backing up Israeli commando raids to destroy the Iranian sites. The viewpoint from Tel Aviv is that such a massive operation, envisioned to take a week, would not be successful without direct US assistance.

It was during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu's visit to the White House earlier this month that Trump informed the Israeli leader that instead he would pursue new diplomatic talks with Iran.

That's when Netanyahu made the strange and provocative statement that they should "go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision with American execution." Netanyahu departed Washington with no major wins - not even on the effort to get new tariffs on Israel removed or reduced.

The NYT writes of Israel in the new report, "They were prepared to carry them out, and at times were optimistic that the United States would sign off."

The Israelis hoped to thoroughly destroy Iran's air defenses before starting to target nuclear facilities. It is believed that many were already taken out during last year's tit-for-tat exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran.

The report confirms prior Axios reporting which said there's a sharp divide within the Trump administration, as we detailed earlier. Vice President J.D. Vance and those in his camp want to avoid another disastrous Middle East war at all costs:

• This camp includes also Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff — who represented the U.S. at the first round of Iran talks on Saturday — and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It also gets outside support from MAGA influencer and Trump whisperer Tucker Carlson.
• This group is concerned that striking Iran's nuclear facilities would put U.S. soldiers in the region in harm's way when Iran strikes back.
• They also argue a new conflict in the region would send oil prices skyrocketing at a sensitive time for the U.S. economy.

Here's what the new NY Times reporting has to say:

In a meeting this month — one of several discussions about the Israeli plan — Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, presented a new intelligence assessment that said the buildup of American weaponry could potentially spark a wider conflict with Iran that the United States did not want.

And more: "A range of officials echoed Ms. Gabbard's concerns in the various meetings. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; and Vice President JD Vance all voiced doubts about the attack."

Now the reason for the spate of firings at key Pentagon posts, among them top Hegseth staffers, is becoming evident...

NYT further notes that "Even Mr. Waltz, frequently one of the most hawkish voices on Iran, was skeptical that Israel’s plan could succeed without substantial American assistance."

But for now a military option is being kept on the table as the US pursues talks with Tehran, the next which are set for Saturday in Rome, with the report also noting that "In addition to talks and strikes, other options were discussed, including covert Israeli operations conducted with U.S. support and more aggressive sanctions enforcement."

For now it looks like DNI Gabbard as the nation's top intelligence chief is having a positive effect, as the usual neocons and interventionists can't so easily get their way anymore. 

But it looks like they (the hawks and the Israeli lobby/AIPAC) are currently trying to get everyone opposed to war with Iran fired. On Wednesday a third official was escorted out of the Pentagon, with security credentials removed:

A third high-level Pentagon staffer has been placed on administrative leave in two days as part of a probe into media leaks.

Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, was escorted out of the building on Wednesday, following Dan Caldwell, senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, deputy chief of staff to Hegseth. 

"We can confirm that Mr. Carroll has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation. We have nothing additional to provide at this time," a defense official told Fox News.