Israeli officials believe US President Donald Trump is preparing to significantly escalate the American military campaign against Iran, according to two Israeli officials.
According to the assessment, an expanded US campaign targeting Iranian strategic infrastructure and senior regime officials would likely prompt Tehran to retaliate directly against Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a six-hour security consultation on Monday night with several ministers and senior defense officials to assess the evolving situation.
During the meeting, an Israeli official said, Netanyahu briefly left the discussion to speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
US CENTCOM continues strikes on Iran after Trump says he’ll hit Pickaxe Mountain
Meanwhile, US Central Command has entered its 11th consecutive day of strikes against Iran. A source familiar with the operation told The Jerusalem Post that CENTCOM has struck approximately 1,000 targets across Iran over the past 10 days.
On Tuesday during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump said Tehran was “desperate” to hold talks, warning that it had “not seen anything yet.”
Trump added that the US will be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, “pretty soon.”
Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker-buster bombs in the US arsenal.
Earlier this week, a source told the Post that it is no longer a matter of when Trump would strike, but when he will strike.
“He understands that, barring an unexpected development, the chances of a diplomatic solution is now virtually nonexistent,” the source said.
However, another official cautioned that Trump has changed course “at the last minute” before, noting that his position could still shift.
