Middle East

New Republic - Supporting Israel’s assault on Iran has caused the president to lose some of his longest-term acolytes.  One such loss apparently includes Tucker Carlson, who issued a newsletter to his audience Friday grimly titled: “This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War.” In it, the ex–Fox News anchor accused Donald Trump of being “complicit in the act of war” and chastised executive decisions that he said had effectively launched U.S. soldiers into another war in the Middle East.

“Earlier this week, unnamed Washington sources expressed concern over Israel’s ability to fend off Iran’s retaliation, which would inevitably lead to Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the American military to step in and fight on his country’s behalf,” Carlson wrote. “On Thursday, Iran’s president threatened to ‘destroy’ any country that eliminates his government’s nuclear facilities. Now, the world will learn what that looks like.”

NBC - As the percussion of Israeli munitions rattled Tehran on Thursday night, President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement observed a rare silence — a sign, influential Republicans say, of the divide within their own party when it comes to the prospect of a war between Israel and Iran.  It took Trump, who comments publicly more often than any president in recent memory, about 10 hours to put out a statement on his Truth Social platform, in which he urged Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program.

The first official U.S. assessment had been issued by the White House under Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s name, and it emphasized that America was “not involved” in the strikes. In the meantime, Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, polled his 5 million X followers on the question of whether America should “get involved in Israel’s war against Iran.” By Friday afternoon, the poll showed more than 350,000 votes, with an overwhelming proportion in the “No” column...

It all adds up to a demonstration of the quandary facing Trump as he and other elected Republicans seek safe political turf.

Trump’s electoral success owes in no small part to his isolationist-leaning “America First” platform and his fierce criticism of drawn-out U.S. engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Israel’s latest action pits traditional Republican support for the Jewish state — and antipathy toward Iran — against the MAGA base’s fear that the U.S. will be drawn into a new foreign war. And even within Trump’s MAGA wing, there’s a long-running split over American backing of Israel. Trump has always been on the pro-Israel side of the divide.

NY Times - In the hours after Israel’s offensive began early Friday, Times Opinion explored what’s at stake for Israel, Iran, the United States and the Middle East.

Among our columnists, Nicholas Kristof suggested that such attacks would only speed up Iran’s “drive for nuclear weapons” and lead its people to rally around an unpopular regime. Bret Stephens argued that Israel was left with no choice but to act, and he called its strike a “display of clarity and courage for which we may all one day be grateful.”

Thomas L. Friedman explained the various ways the conflict could be considered one of the “pivotal, game-changing wars that have reshaped the Middle East since World War II.” David French examined Israel’s actions in light of the dangers to the world posed by a rogue nation with nukes (Exhibit A: Russia).

Finally, the foreign policy analyst Rosemary Kelanic wrote in a guest essay about the potential for catastrophe if the United States becomes embroiled in this war.