Israel said preparing for renewal of Iran war; Trump says Tehran has days to make deal |
As US negotiations with Iran make little headway, Israel’s leaders are expecting and preparing to rejoin US strikes on the Islamic Republic, Channel 12 reported Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump indicated his patience was running out.
Trump said on Monday he had halted attack plans for Tuesday because Gulf states convinced him that reaching a deal with Tehran was possible.
But in new comments, the US leader said Tuesday that Tehran had only days to make a deal.
Channel 12 reported that officials in Israel believe Trump’s comments the previous day had narrowed his options, assessing that unless Tehran presents a dramatically improved proposal — which they view as unlikely — the president will ultimately feel compelled to act militarily.
The TV report pointed to multiple developments suggesting heightened Israeli preparations for an American strike, adding that Jerusalem was likely to coordinate with the US on any potential attack.
Monday night’s limited security meeting convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lasted nearly five hours – with the IDF chief of staff, air force chief, head of military intelligence, head of the Operations Directorate, and other senior defense officials in attendance – to ensure full preparedness for the possibility of an American strike, the report said.
In addition, it noted that Netanyahu had canceled his court testimony for Wednesday with no opposition from the prosecution, and that President Isaac Herzog had informed organizers of an upcoming event in New York City that he would not be attending “due to the sensitive situation in the Middle East.”
Trump on Tuesday said he had not decided how long he would hold off on striking Iran and ending the ceasefire in place since last month.
Asked how long he’s willing to wait while showing off the construction of the White House ballroom to a group of reporters, Trump gave a vague timeline.
“I’m saying two or three days — maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, maybe early next week — a limited period of time,” Trump claimed.
“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit… I’m not sure yet, you’ll know very soon,” he added.
Tehran’s latest peace proposal to the United States involved ending hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon, the exit of US forces from areas near Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the US-Israeli war, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
In Tehran’s first comments on the proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds, and an end to the US maritime blockade on the country, according to the IRNA news agency.
The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage.”
A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides since hosting the only round of peace talks last month, had shared the Iranian proposal with Washington.
The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have........