An Israeli source familiar with the details said Monday that Israel had already sought last Thursday to carry out strikes in Tehran, but the plan was shelved after U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Israel not to proceed.
According to the source, when fire was later directed toward the Galilee, Israel saw an opportunity to put the plan back on the table. The idea, the source said, was to create a chain of events: Israel would strike in Beirut’s Dahieh district, Iran would respond with missiles, and Israel would then have justification to attack Iran.
The problem, the source said, was that Trump ultimately “folded” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stopped the planned strikes in Iran.
The account adds a dramatic new layer to the decision-making behind the latest round of escalation, which lasted less than a day before a senior Israeli official confirmed that Israel would halt its strikes in Iran at Trump’s request.
“At Trump’s request, we are stopping the strikes in Iran,” the senior Israeli official said after Netanyahu spoke by phone with the U.S. president.
WATCH: First footage from IDF strikes targeting aerial defense systems in Iran
(Video: IDF)
Following a meeting of the restricted security cabinet and against the backdrop of the Iranian threat, the official said Israel would continue to act in Lebanon. “We are continuing in Lebanon at full force, according to the equation that if they fire at communities, we will strike in Dahieh,” he said.
“The conversation between Netanyahu and Trump was overall good,” the official added. “The two countries see eye to eye, even though twice in the past 24 hours we acted contrary to the president’s public position, both in the strike in Beirut and in the response in Iran.”
The official said Israel had shown it could insist on its right to self-defense even when facing opposition from Washington. “Israel proved its ability to stand firm on its right to self-defense even against the president, but without tearing the rope and while preserving the strategic partnership,” he said. “The feeling is that the current escalation is behind us.”
US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
He later qualified the remarks, saying, “We are waiting for a final decision, but the direction is to halt the strikes in Iran, not in Lebanon.”
A source familiar with the Trump-Netanyahu talks said after the call that the prime minister was “considering” stopping the next planned attacks in Iran. The source said Netanyahu was expected to soon order the IDF to halt plans prepared for further strikes later Monday afternoon, evening and night, which were expected to be significantly more extensive. In effect, the source said, Trump had once again decided on Israel’s behalf how the war would proceed.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting',” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly,” he wrote in a follow-up post.
Iranian security forces have ended their military operations against Israel, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday, while warning that any renewed Israeli attacks in Lebanon would trigger a much harsher response.
In a statement carried by Fars, Iran's Emergency Command said the move followed what it described as attacks by Israel in southern Lebanon and Beirut's Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold, carried out with U.S. support.
"Following the aggression of the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon and the Dahieh area, with American backing, Iran's forces delivered a painful response to the regime in support of Lebanon," the statement said. "A response from which the fake Zionist regime and its supporters should have learned a lesson."
The statement announced a halt to Iranian military operations but warned that further Israeli actions would prompt a significantly stronger reaction. "It is emphasized that if the aggression continues, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and painful measures will follow," the statement said.
The appeal came after Iran fired missiles at Israel and Israel carried out strikes inside Iran, including reported attacks on radar and air defense systems meant to clear routes for Israeli aircraft. Israeli officials said the military was prepared for several days of fighting and had approved plans for further strikes.
Iran also threatened to target oil and gas facilities linked to Israel, the United States and their allies if attacks on energy infrastructure continued. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for an attack on industrial sites in Haifa, saying it was retaliation for a strike on an Iranian petrochemical facility.
The escalation spread beyond Iran and Israel. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they were renewing a naval blockade on Israel and closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Israeli shipping, while also claiming missile fire toward the Tel Aviv area.
First published: 12:46, 06.08.26