Khaberni - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US President Donald Trump to postpone the strike he threatened against Iran, due to the heavy pressure exerted on the Israeli missile defense systems after the war against Iran in June.
The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported from the American network "CNN" that Israeli officials confirmed that the air defense systems were depleted in the direct conflict with Iran last year, and that Israel does not believe that the Iranian regime will collapse quickly without a prolonged military campaign. This assessment was one of the factors that prompted Trump to postpone the attack expected on Iran between last Wednesday and Thursday nights.
American Retreat
"CNN" mentioned that Trump surprised his allies after a series of harsh statements by announcing the cessation of killing demonstrators in Iran, although American intelligence assessments contradict this claim. US officials informed Gulf countries that Trump's main goal is to pressure Tehran to stop the crackdown, and he was looking for concrete indicators of this shift.
According to the report, US officials considered Iran's announcement to postpone the execution of Erfan Soltani, whom supporters of the Iranian opposition described as a symbol of the protests, as the signal Trump was looking for.
In contrast, Israel recognizes real concerns about its stock of interceptor missiles. Even before the recent tension with Iran, reports indicated a "severe shortage" of them, despite denials by the Israeli government. Reports also stated that the United States also faced difficulties in renewing its stock of interceptor missiles, due to their transfer to Israel during the war in June.
Israel Prepared
Last week, Brigadier General Dani Gold, head of the Israeli Defense Research and Development Directorate, told Yedioth Ahronoth that Israel's Iron Dome system is constantly preparing for future threats. Gold said: "All our defense systems undergo continuous updates. We are constantly learning and striving to anticipate enemy moves. We are working to accelerate production in all layers of the system whether it's the Arrow system, David's Sling, or the Iron Dome system. Part of these systems are produced in the United States, where we recently opened an Iron Dome factory, but the main expansion in quantities is in Israel."
Military analyst Ron Ben Yishai from "Yedioth Ahronoth" said that Israeli leaders doubted the ability of limited strikes to overthrow the Iranian regime. Ben Yishai added that the timing was unfavorable from Israel's standpoint. Israeli officials, and in other capitals in the Middle East, feared that the attack would fail to topple the regime, while costing Israel severe internal losses, and extensive economic and security costs due to another prolonged confrontation with Iran, a confrontation Israel was not fully prepared for.
Ben Yishai added that Iran itself is under severe pressure and in a state of high alert, which increases Israel's fears of a possible Iranian response.
