Israel remains on high alert amid the latest Mideast developments, even after expectations of a powerful United States attack on Iran over the weekend gave way to what appeared to be a continuation of contacts between Washington and Tehran.
Despite conflicting reports, Israeli officials claim they were not surprised that U.S. President Donald Trump did not order an intensified round of strikes over the weekend. They stressed, however, that Israel’s position remained unchanged. It is prepared to act defensively and offensively if necessary.
Should Iran decide to attack Israel, or should Trump ask Israel to join the campaign, the Israeli security establishment is ready and on alert.
Israeli officials have nevertheless expressed concern that, despite the apparent return to close cooperation between the governments in Jerusalem and Washington, coordination between the two countries must be strengthened after having seen better days.
That, Israeli officials say, is why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the U.S. this week is critical. The visit will culminate in a meeting with Trump, five months after the two leaders last met in person. Netanyahu’s previous trip to Washington took place in February, two weeks before the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran known as “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury.”
At the time, Netanyahu also traveled to Washington against the backdrop of increasingly intensive talks between the U.S. and Iran aimed at reaching an agreement. Those efforts ultimately ended with an unprecedented combined attack on Iran and its senior leadership.
This time, too, Netanyahu hopes to secure renewed coordination regarding future U.S. action against Iran. At the very least, he intends to raise Israel’s interests in his conversation with Trump and, no less important, in meetings with senior U.S. administration officials.
Netanyahu is expected to fly to the U.S. aboard Wing of Zion, Israel’s official state aircraft, on Monday. He is scheduled to meet Trump on Tuesday and later attend the funeral of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
‘They’re getting more serious’
Trump addressed the Iran situation on Saturday, saying: “We’re talking to them right now. I think they’re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason. They’re the most serious they’ve ever been. I always prefer the alternative,” Trump continued.
“We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go. But we’re talking to them, so we’ll see what comes of those talks. I believe they’re very serious. They had better be. We’re ready. We’re talking to them. Maybe there will be, maybe there won’t be a tipping point.”
Trump again emphasized the ability of the U.S. to intensify the war. “There are two ways,” he said. “I think this is the smarter way, but the other way is probably the easier way, and that is to continue doing what we’re doing. We can take it to a much higher level if we want to. You know, we’re ready to do that. Maybe they’ll cry uncle, maybe they’ll just give up, or maybe they’ll simply go into a cave and hide,” Trump added.
“If I wasn’t elected, Israel would, in my opinion, not be around anymore. They would have been hit by a nuclear weapon,” Trump concluded.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
