Israel has conveyed to the U.S. administration that whatever Washington decides on the next phase of the war with Iran will be acceptable to Jerusalem, a senior Israeli political official told ynet on Monday, signaling that this time Israel does not expect a repeat of last June’s clash with President Donald Trump over how long to keep fighting.
The official said the current situation was not like last year’s June operation, when Israel protested and sought to prolong the war, and Trump ordered Israeli Air Force jets to turn back.
“This is not that event,” the senior official said. “The moment he makes the decision, we go with the decision. In the meantime, we are trying to exhaust the target bank.”
The official added that a decision on a ceasefire could come quickly if Trump receives signals from mediators that an agreement is within reach.
The official said Trump is currently pursuing what he described as negotiations under fire, but could change course very quickly, within days. “We want to stretch this out as much as possible so we can destroy as many targets as possible and push Iran farther away from nuclear capability and the production of weapons and ballistic missiles,” the official said.
Israeli officials said this should not be seen as a missed opportunity, but as recognition of reality. According to the senior official, “If there is no regime change, you eventually exhaust your move. For us, it is a cost-benefit calculation. The Iranians can keep this up for another year or two. It can be estimated that we are nearing the end.”
Israeli officials also said Trump remains in contact with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The American president is speaking with the Iranians directly, they said, but mainly through several mediation channels: Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt.
Officials in Jerusalem assess that if Trump receives signals from the mediators that Iran is serious, he could order a ceasefire to allow negotiations to continue. But if he concludes Tehran is stringing him along, he could order a major strike on Iran’s energy and infrastructure facilities, alongside a ground operation.