{"id":311637,"date":"2026-02-26T17:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/311637\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:55:16","slug":"as-us-iran-talks-resume-israel-braces-for-possible-american-strike-and-iranian-retal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/311637\/","title":{"rendered":"As US-Iran talks resume, Israel braces for possible American strike and Iranian retal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regardles of the outcome of the talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva<\/a>, Israel is preparing for the possibility that negotiations will collapse and that the United States will strike Iran. The preparations come amid U.S. demands that a senior Iranian official told Al-Jazeera were \u201ccompletely rejected in part\u201d by Tehran. Despite that response, the talks resumed this evening.<\/p>\n

The strikes in the Baalbek area<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s working assumption is that any U.S. strike would prompt an Iranian attack on Israel, something Iranian officials have already publicly signaled. According to Israeli assessments, from Tehran\u2019s perspective a U.S. strike would not be seen as serving American interests alone but also Israel\u2019s. Therefore, if the United States attacks, Israel is likely to face Iranian strikes.<\/p>\n

Israeli officials believe launching missiles at Israel would be easier for Iran than attacking U.S. targets. Beyond that, an attack on Israel is seen by Tehran as ideological. Iranian leaders view Israel as the source of evil and believe it must be targeted. In any case, Israel says it is fully prepared for a scenario in which a U.S. strike on Iran would be met by Iranian retaliation against Israel.<\/p>\n

A possible sign of looming escalation also emerged from Iran, where it was reported that some universities will move to remote learning through the end of the academic year. The official explanation was that the start of the semester coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

Against the backdrop of a potential military confrontation, questions have arisen in Israel over how much Iran has recovered since last summer\u2019s Operation Rising Lion, a 12-day war. Israeli officials say Iran\u2019s motivation to rebuild is high and that rehabilitation efforts are underway through various methods. President Donald Trump recently said Iran has begun restoring its nuclear program, apparently referring to reports that the Islamic Republic is constructing a new facility.<\/p>\n

Israel is also closely monitoring Iran\u2019s efforts to restore its missile-launch capabilities. Officials say they did not expect otherwise, believing that while last summer\u2019s achievements were significant, they would not hold for long given Iran\u2019s ideological zeal.<\/p>\n

As for Iran\u2019s air defense systems, Israeli officials say progress has been made in restoring both offensive and defensive arrays. Iran is cooperating with China, though Israeli officials say media reports on the extent of that cooperation are exaggerated. Air defense systems are being rebuilt and weapons shipments to Iran are continuing, developments Israel is tracking with concern. Still, officials stress that the rehabilitation is incomplete and that Iranian messaging does not match the reality on the ground.<\/p>\n

Israel assesses that the Geneva talks are unlikely to produce an agreement. U.S. conditions are described as highly specific and at the upper threshold of demands. Because they are not vague, Israeli officials believe Iran\u2019s ability to meet them, both organizationally and ideologically, is low and nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir ability to comply with an agreement that weakens them and prevents enrichment is inconceivable,\u201d one official familiar with the details said. \u201cThey wake up in the morning thinking about how to enrich uranium. It is so deeply ingrained that it is very hard to believe they can meet the very high bar being set. But surprises are possible. Just last week everything was ready for a strike, and at the last moment the Americans agreed to negotiations. We may be surprised again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran\u2019s regional proxies will join a war. Although Hezbollah refrained from intervening during last summer\u2019s 12-day conflict, Israeli officials say the Shiite militant group has since been rebuilding and is unlikely to stay out again.<\/p>\n

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3 View gallery <\/p>\n

\"\u05ea\u05e7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05ea<\/a>\"\u05ea\u05e7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05ea<\/p>\n

This time, Israeli officials say, Hezbollah has every reason to enter the fight as part of its stated vision, particularly after staying out of both the Oct. 7 massacre and the 12-day war. Officials in Jerusalem believe the likelihood that Hezbollah would join a future conflict is very high.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it struck eight Radwan Force military camps near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon. The military said the sites stored large quantities of weapons, including firearms and rockets, and were used for training and planning attacks against Israeli forces and civilians. Fighters conducted, among other things, live-fire drills there, the military said.<\/p>\n

Officials familiar with Hezbollah\u2019s current condition described it as still \u201ccollecting the pieces,\u201d not the idealized force Israel once feared. \u201cBut it is a terrorist organization whose vision remains intact,\u201d one official said. \u201cIt measures itself, among other things, by when it assists the axis. It has an opportunity to help and will not give it up easily. We could all be surprised and Hezbollah may choose to wait and build strength rather than expend weapons and capabilities. But even the concerning possibility, even if uncertain, that Hezbollah decides to join would turn this into a multi-front axis war. That deeply concerns Israel, and it is preparing accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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3 View gallery <\/p>\n

\"\u05d4\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea'\u05d9\u05dd<\/a>\"\u05d4\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea'\u05d9\u05dd<\/p>\n

The Houthis are training and are not expected to disappear from the arena<\/p>\n

Another arena of concern is the Houthi movement in Yemen. During last summer\u2019s war, the Houthis fired three to four rockets. While not a high number, Israeli officials say the launches demonstrated a willingness to fight. Although the Houthis are no longer at full operational capacity, their perception of reality differs, and Israel believes they will remain a long-term challenge.<\/p>\n

As for all the proxies, Israeli officials say they must assume they will join the conflict. The outcome remains unclear, but preparations are underway, from calculating strike plans and munitions to identifying targets.<\/p>\n

Another question is whether Israel would use a U.S. strike, if it occurs, to \u201cclear the table\u201d across all fronts. Israeli officials say that possibility exists and must be taken into account. If attacked, Israel could seize the opportunity to act decisively against Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis.<\/p>\n

Israel has not formally addressed a Politico report that Trump\u2019s advisers, for domestic political reasons, urged him to ask Israel to initiate a strike on Iran. The report cannot be ruled out, and it is clear that some in the president\u2019s orbit would prefer to avoid direct U.S. entanglement and might be more comfortable with Israel taking the lead.<\/p>\n

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3 View gallery <\/p>\n

\"\u05ea\u05e8\u05d2\u05d9\u05dc<\/a>\"\u05ea\u05e8\u05d2\u05d9\u05dc<\/p>\n

But such a scenario would place Israel in a difficult position. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran that if it attacks, Israel\u2019s response will be far harsher than Tehran can imagine. In effect, he has drawn the boundaries: Israel will not initiate a war but will respond forcefully.<\/p>\n

If the Politico report is accurate and Israel were to initiate hostilities, Iran would claim legitimacy to retaliate. Some in Israel may see an interest in launching a preemptive war to decisively strike Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program, especially as Washington appears focused primarily on the nuclear issue rather than the missile threat that most concerns Israel.<\/p>\n

Still, based on the current U.S. military deployment, Israeli officials say it does not appear that Washington expects Israel to go first. It is more plausible, they say, that if there is a U.S. strike there would be a division of labor and joint action as force multipliers. The recent arrival of 12 U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets at an air base in southern Israel, they add, is not the behavior of a superpower expecting Israel to initiate the conf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regardles of the outcome of the talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva, Israel is preparing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-311637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}