By: Fern Sidman

As Israel presses forward with its most expansive military campaign in decades — Operation Rising Lion — Axios.com reported that Israeli officials have formally requested that the Trump administration join the war effort against Iran in a bid to cripple Tehran’s deeply fortified nuclear infrastructure. The focus of the request: a joint operation to obliterate the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, Iran’s most heavily protected atomic site.

According to two senior Israeli officials who spoke to Axios.com, the Israeli government is convinced that without the direct involvement of the United States military, it cannot achieve the primary objective of the current operation — the irreversible dismantling of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Fordow, which lies deep within a mountain near Qom, has long been a symbol of Iran’s nuclear resilience. It is designed specifically to survive conventional airstrikes and is viewed by Israeli defense planners as effectively invulnerable to Israeli munitions.

Despite its formidable air force, Israel lacks the specialized GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator — colloquially known as the “bunker buster” — and the heavy bombers necessary to deliver it. The United States, by contrast, has both the weapons and the means to deploy them within striking distance of Iran. The report at Axios.com noted that American B-2 Spirit bombers, currently stationed in Diego Garcia and other regional bases, are capable of reaching Fordow and penetrating its subterranean fortifications.

As one Israeli official put it to Axios, “We have taken the initiative and hit everything we can. But Fordow is the linchpin. If it remains operational, the regime’s nuclear ambition remains viable — and we will have failed.”

Thus far, however, the Trump administration has rebuffed Israeli appeals for direct military involvement. A senior U.S. official told Axios.com on Saturday that while Israel’s urgency is understood, “the administration is not currently considering participation in this operation.”

The White House maintains that direct U.S. involvement would shift the conflict’s contours dramatically, transforming it from a regional confrontation into a full-scale war between two sovereign states. “If we strike Iranian territory — even just Fordow — we are at war with Iran. That has global consequences,” the official said.

Still, the Israeli government remains optimistic. One senior Israeli source told Axios.com that President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken multiple times in recent days, and that Trump has hinted he may reconsider if the operation reaches a critical impasse. While a White House official denied this characterization, the ambiguity underscores how precarious the diplomatic and military calculus has become.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter told Fox News that “the entire operation really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow.” Without that, Israeli officials argue, Tehran will retain the capacity to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, even after dozens of other facilities have been decimated in the ongoing air campaign.

The urgency is further fueled by intelligence suggesting that Iran is accelerating its nuclear efforts under the cover of war. According to Israeli officials cited by Axios.com, Fordow has increased centrifuge operations in recent weeks, potentially shortening Iran’s nuclear breakout timeline.

The Trump administration’s current position is to allow Israel to carry out its objectives independently, while keeping diplomatic channels open for a potential negotiated resolution. “Whatever happens today cannot be prevented,” a senior White House official told Axios.com. “But we have the ability to negotiate a successful peaceful resolution to this conflict — if Iran is willing. The fastest way for Iran to accomplish peace is to give up its nuclear weapons program.”

The request comes amid renewed speculation over whether the Trump administration’s posture might shift should the conflict deepen or expand. Trump, who has long criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and famously ordered the killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020, has shown little patience for diplomatic ambiguity in the past. However, aides close to the president say he is currently focused on balancing military restraint with diplomatic leverage.

Israeli officials, meanwhile, are pressing hard for American engagement — not only to complete their immediate mission, but to send an unmistakable signal to Tehran that the U.S.-Israel alliance remains as resolute as ever. “This isn’t just about Israel,” one Israeli official told Axios.com. “It’s about the security architecture of the entire free world.”

As Operation Rising Lion enters its next phase, all eyes remain fixed on Fordow — and on Washington. If the United States agrees to strike the facility, it would mark the most significant expansion of American involvement in the conflict and redefine its scope. If not, Israel may have to settle for an incomplete — and potentially temporary — setback to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

For now, Israeli jets continue to pound military and nuclear sites across Iran. But as the walls of Fordow remain intact, so too does the core of Iran’s nuclear strategy — and the perilous uncertainty surrounding it.