With the growing potential for talks between the United States and Iran, the Israeli military is striking as many key targets as it can, concerned the war could soon be brought to a halt, two senior Israeli officials and two people briefed on the matter said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that every effort be made over the next 48 hours to destroy as much of the Iranian arms industry as possible, according to the two officials.
The order came after Netanyahu's government obtained a copy of a U.S.-drafted, 15-point plan to end the war, the officials said, one of whom was present at meetings at which it was discussed.
Also Read | Iran is reviewing US proposal but has no interest in holding talks, says Foreign Minister Araqchi
The haste reflected a concern in the Israeli government that President Donald Trump could announce peace talks at any moment, the officials and the two people briefed on the matter said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters of national security.
The Trump administration has not officially confirmed or denied the existence of a plan, or whether such a plan has been passed to Iran.
Israel is acutely concerned about the possibility of a deal when it has yet to fulfill its key aims. Those aims are eliminating Iran's ballistic-missile threat, ensuring Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon and creating the conditions under which the Iranian people could rise up against their government, which currently appears to be an unrealistic expectation.
"If you do not obtain the three objectives, you will not be able to end the war," Boaz Bismuth, a member of Netanyahu's party and chair of the foreign affairs and defense committee in parliament, said in an interview.
Though the U.S. plan was highly general in its terms, with much still to be determined, it was detailed enough to alarm Netanyahu, his staff and Israel's defense chiefs, the officials said. The Israeli government believed the plan did not ensure that Iran's nuclear program and ballistic-missile capabilities would be sufficiently curbed.
Also Read | Iran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire, sources say
Netanyahu gave the order to accelerate airstrikes in Iran at a tense meeting on Tuesday, deep underground in the bowels of Israel's Tel Aviv military headquarters. It followed briefings by top commanders, including the heads of the air force and of military intelligence, on what targets could still be struck, the two officials said.
Israel's haste to attack underscores the limitations it faces as the United States' junior partner in the war, according to five Israeli national security officials. The decision to end the war rests with Trump, the officials said, and Netanyahu has little influence over that.
Yet there is division among those security officials about whether or not the war should continue. Some said that Israel still had an extensive list of targets in Iran, and that they would be pleased if the war went on for another week. Others said they would prefer it end as soon as possible.
Three of the officials argued that while the war's biggest achievements had occurred in its first week, the gains since then have diminished. They said that there were growing concerns about international public opinion of the war, its enormous financial cost, and the accumulating costs to Israel's population in casualties, destruction, trauma and fatigue.
Some Israeli experts say that neither outcome -- the end of the war or its continuation -- would bring positive results for Israel.
"You're damned, if you do, and you're damned, if you don't," said Danny Citrinowicz, a retired military intelligence officer who specialized in Iran.
In any negotiation to end the war, Iran would most likely insist on retaining its ability to develop ballistic missiles, enrich uranium and assert authority over the Strait of Hormuz, Citrinowicz said. The strait is a strategic waterway that Iran has effectively closed to most international shipping, driving up the global price of oil and fuel.
And the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that Israel and the United States will be pulled into a "war of attrition," which could result in the destruction of most of the energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, Citrinowicz added.
"The Iranians won't capitulate," he said. "I can't see a good outcome here."
It remains to be seen whether any negotiations between the United States and Iran will take hold.
Publicly, Iran has dismissed Trump's proposal for a ceasefire. Press TV, Iran's state-run English broadcaster, quoted an anonymous senior Iranian official saying that Iran would not allow Trump "to dictate the timing of the war's end" and declared Iran's own conditions, including reparations for war damage and recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
But privately, Iranian officials signaled they were open to negotiations. Officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Iran was considering meeting U.S. negotiators in Pakistan over the next week.
The officials cautioned that Iran would not entertain talks about a temporary ceasefire that might allow Israel and the United States to beef up their forces before resuming strikes. The officials said Iran would negotiate over the status of its nuclear enrichment, but not its missile program, and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz before a peace deal was secured. Iran also planned to charge tolls on ships passing through the strait.
In the Gulf, volleys of missiles on Wednesday underlined Iran's continued capacity to retaliate even after nearly a month of American and Israeli airstrikes. Kuwait said it intercepted six drones, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted 30 drones since Tuesday evening and the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted nine Iranian drones on Wednesday alone.
Iran's military said Wednesday that it had fired cruise missiles at the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Trump said Tuesday that more than 100 missiles had been launched at the carrier but that "every single one of them was knocked down."
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that every effort be made over the next 48 hours to destroy as much of the Iranian arms industry as possible, according to the two officials.
The order came after Netanyahu's government obtained a copy of a U.S.-drafted, 15-point plan to end the war, the officials said, one of whom was present at meetings at which it was discussed.
Also Read | Iran is reviewing US proposal but has no interest in holding talks, says Foreign Minister Araqchi
The haste reflected a concern in the Israeli government that President Donald Trump could announce peace talks at any moment, the officials and the two people briefed on the matter said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters of national security.
The Trump administration has not officially confirmed or denied the existence of a plan, or whether such a plan has been passed to Iran.
Israel is acutely concerned about the possibility of a deal when it has yet to fulfill its key aims. Those aims are eliminating Iran's ballistic-missile threat, ensuring Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon and creating the conditions under which the Iranian people could rise up against their government, which currently appears to be an unrealistic expectation.
"If you do not obtain the three objectives, you will not be able to end the war," Boaz Bismuth, a member of Netanyahu's party and chair of the foreign affairs and defense committee in parliament, said in an interview.
Though the U.S. plan was highly general in its terms, with much still to be determined, it was detailed enough to alarm Netanyahu, his staff and Israel's defense chiefs, the officials said. The Israeli government believed the plan did not ensure that Iran's nuclear program and ballistic-missile capabilities would be sufficiently curbed.
Also Read | Iran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire, sources say
Netanyahu gave the order to accelerate airstrikes in Iran at a tense meeting on Tuesday, deep underground in the bowels of Israel's Tel Aviv military headquarters. It followed briefings by top commanders, including the heads of the air force and of military intelligence, on what targets could still be struck, the two officials said.
Israel's haste to attack underscores the limitations it faces as the United States' junior partner in the war, according to five Israeli national security officials. The decision to end the war rests with Trump, the officials said, and Netanyahu has little influence over that.
Yet there is division among those security officials about whether or not the war should continue. Some said that Israel still had an extensive list of targets in Iran, and that they would be pleased if the war went on for another week. Others said they would prefer it end as soon as possible.
Three of the officials argued that while the war's biggest achievements had occurred in its first week, the gains since then have diminished. They said that there were growing concerns about international public opinion of the war, its enormous financial cost, and the accumulating costs to Israel's population in casualties, destruction, trauma and fatigue.
Some Israeli experts say that neither outcome -- the end of the war or its continuation -- would bring positive results for Israel.
"You're damned, if you do, and you're damned, if you don't," said Danny Citrinowicz, a retired military intelligence officer who specialized in Iran.
In any negotiation to end the war, Iran would most likely insist on retaining its ability to develop ballistic missiles, enrich uranium and assert authority over the Strait of Hormuz, Citrinowicz said. The strait is a strategic waterway that Iran has effectively closed to most international shipping, driving up the global price of oil and fuel.
And the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that Israel and the United States will be pulled into a "war of attrition," which could result in the destruction of most of the energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, Citrinowicz added.
"The Iranians won't capitulate," he said. "I can't see a good outcome here."
It remains to be seen whether any negotiations between the United States and Iran will take hold.
Publicly, Iran has dismissed Trump's proposal for a ceasefire. Press TV, Iran's state-run English broadcaster, quoted an anonymous senior Iranian official saying that Iran would not allow Trump "to dictate the timing of the war's end" and declared Iran's own conditions, including reparations for war damage and recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
But privately, Iranian officials signaled they were open to negotiations. Officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Iran was considering meeting U.S. negotiators in Pakistan over the next week.
The officials cautioned that Iran would not entertain talks about a temporary ceasefire that might allow Israel and the United States to beef up their forces before resuming strikes. The officials said Iran would negotiate over the status of its nuclear enrichment, but not its missile program, and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz before a peace deal was secured. Iran also planned to charge tolls on ships passing through the strait.
In the Gulf, volleys of missiles on Wednesday underlined Iran's continued capacity to retaliate even after nearly a month of American and Israeli airstrikes. Kuwait said it intercepted six drones, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted 30 drones since Tuesday evening and the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted nine Iranian drones on Wednesday alone.
Iran's military said Wednesday that it had fired cruise missiles at the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Trump said Tuesday that more than 100 missiles had been launched at the carrier but that "every single one of them was knocked down."
