Israeli media reported on Monday estimates that the military campaign being carried out by the United States and Israel since February 28 is nearing its end, a campaign in which more than 40 Iranian leaders have been killed, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
These Israeli estimates came after statements by US President Donald Trump on Monday, in which he disclosed talks between Washington and Tehran to stop the war, describing them as “good and productive.”
Postponing the strikes for 5 days
The US president said he had instructed the Defense Department to postpone the planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days.
This came in a post on Truth Social in which he said the two capitals had “held, over the past two days, very good and highly productive talks on reaching a full and comprehensive solution to our hostilities in the Middle East.”
He added: “I have instructed the Defense Department to postpone all military strikes against Iranian power stations and energy infrastructure for five days, contingent on the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”
In another statement, Trump told Fox Business on Monday: “Iran very much wants to reach an agreement, perhaps within five days or even before that, while talks continue in an attempt to stop the planned attacks and end the conflict.”
According to the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, a meeting of the political-security cabinet that had been scheduled for Monday evening was postponed until next Wednesday because of developments related to Iran.
The war with Iran is nearing its end
The newspaper added that estimates in Israel link Trump’s desire to end the fighting to mounting economic pressure, noting that the battle is approaching its end and that the path to that may run through an agreement.
The newspaper says that if an agreement is indeed reached, it will not be a partial settlement or a limited step, but rather “a comprehensive agreement that ends the war.” Israeli officials believe the issue is not whether Israel will continue fighting Iran alone, but that any agreement would also bind Israel.
The newspaper quoted officials as saying: “Every additional day should be used to strike more Iranian targets until the situation becomes clearer.”
Alongside the track now emerging on the horizon to find a solution and stop the war, Tel Aviv still “does not know exactly what this agreement would look like if it is signed,” or how bad it would be, or not too bad, from Israel’s point of view. “There are several possibilities,” according to “Maariv.”
A source familiar with updates on Israeli war plans against Iran told Reuters that Washington had informed Israel of its talks with Tehran, and that Israel is expected to follow the United States and suspend any attacks on power stations and energy infrastructure in Iran.
According to the Hebrew newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth,” Israel was not surprised by the US president’s announcement of talks with Iran, which prompted it to cancel the alert that had been imposed following Trump’s warning not to attack energy infrastructure and electricity generation stations.
An Israeli source told the newspaper that the Americans had asked the Israelis to suspend attacks on power stations and infrastructure facilities, adding that Qatari pressure on Trump had an effect.
According to the source, that does not necessarily mean the war is nearing its end: “Trump has not completely withdrawn from the scene, even if it appears he has begun to cut his losses. If the mediators succeed in pushing the Iranians toward some formula for opening the Strait of Hormuz, that could lead to ending the war, but it is not certain they are capable of doing so.”
The newspaper confirmed that Trump did not cancel the option of attacking power stations and infrastructure, but merely froze it for five days, during which negotiations will be held in an attempt to reach a settlement with Iran. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the US president’s statements regarding talks held over the past two days between the two countries, saying: “Iran remains committed to its position rejecting any kind of negotiations before achieving its objectives in the war.”
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