An Israeli newspaper has outlined Tel Aviv’s possible objectives in the next round of its war on Iran, arguing that the targets would not remain the same and that any renewed confrontation would involve “more intense fighting”.
In an article by Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom reported that “Israel” had raised its alert level to a record high amid fears that fighting with Iran could resume, while the security establishment preferred to maintain US military pressure and the siege imposed on Tehran.
The newspaper said: “In light of last year’s experience, both the Israeli authorities and the public are closely monitoring the situation and understand that we may be heading towards another round of confrontation with Iran.”
Maintaining Pressure on Tehran
Israel Hayom said internal assessments within the Israeli defence establishment indicated that the preferred option at present was to preserve the current situation.
This would mean maintaining an effective siege on Iran while the United States continued to apply military pressure.
However, the newspaper added that this approach did not appeal to US President Donald Trump, who does not favour prolonged deadlock.
It warned that Trump could eventually lose patience and move towards an agreement that would not serve Israeli interests.
A More Aggressive War
According to the newspaper, the second option available to “Israel” would be to resume the fighting in a different and more aggressive form than the previous round.
It said that if Israeli defence officials were asked, they would argue that renewed fighting should also include attacks on Iran’s national infrastructure.
Even under such a scenario, however, there would be no guarantee of a fundamentally different outcome, such as the fall of the Iranian government or, at minimum, its surrender.
The greatest concern, the newspaper said, was that Iran could attack the oil reserves of neighbouring states, potentially triggering a major energy crisis.
It added that such a crisis was not something Trump appeared particularly concerned about.
Fears of an Iranian Pre-emptive Strike
Israel Hayom also raised another possible scenario involving an Iranian miscalculation.
It said the senior leadership in Tehran could decide to launch a pre-emptive strike aimed at inflicting unexpected damage on “Israel”, based on the belief that the side initiating a war often secures the greater advantage.
This possibility was described as one of the main reasons “Israel” remained on maximum alert, not only to act when necessary, but primarily to defend itself.
The newspaper concluded that the region could be entering another period of severe tension, which may or may not end in renewed fighting.
“In all likelihood, everything will be decided by one person sitting in Washington and making the fateful decisions that shape our lives,” it said.
