'Iran bought time': Israel braced for dramatic US strike that never came
Israel is monitoring the situation as the U.S. pauses military strikes on Iran, with officials believing Tehran is using the time to negotiate concessions. Despite the temporary reprieve, Israeli leadership remains skeptical that a lasting diplomatic agreement can be reached.
Why it matters
It highlights the volatile geopolitical tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, and the uncertainty surrounding potential military escalation.
Israel had assessed that a major American attack on Iran, which U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering, could be launched overnight between Friday and Saturday, prompting dramatic preparations in Israel. As Friday progressed, however, officials in Jerusalem concluded that Trump had decided to hold off and give Tehran another opportunity to make concessions. Behind the scenes, Qatar and Oman applied significant pressure on Iran to soften its position and avert what had appeared to be an almost certain large-scale American operation. Trump said Friday that he had not yet decided whether to order major new strikes. He added that Washington remained in contact with Tehran and that the Iranians were becoming “more and more serious as the days go by.” From Israel’s perspective, the pause amounts to a temporary lifeline for Iran rather than a fundamental change in the broader assessment of the negotiations.
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