{"id":557223,"date":"2026-07-24T10:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/557223\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T10:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:46:11","slug":"western-intelligence-iran-may-strike-israel-first-to-force-wider-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/557223\/","title":{"rendered":"Western intelligence: Iran may strike Israel first to force wider war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Western intelligence agencies assess that Iran may try to draw Israel into a renewed confrontation and could even choose to strike first.<\/p>\n

The assessment is based in part on what appears to be Jerusalem\u2019s reluctance to return to war, as well as emerging strains in Israel-U.S. relations that Tehran may seek to exploit.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d2'\u05ea\u05d1\u05d0<\/a>\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d2'\u05ea\u05d1\u05d0<\/p>\n

Western intelligence agencies assess that Iran may try to draw Israel into a renewed confrontation<\/p>\n

Against the backdrop of preparations for a possible escalation over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene the inner security cabinet on Friday.<\/p>\n

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday evening, following a security consultation with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and senior military officials, that Israel was preparing for every scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are preparing for every possibility,\u201d Katz said. \u201cIf Iran attacks Israel, it will suffer a crushing blow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has been engaged in an ongoing effort to create a strategic surprise and avenge the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, part of which was exposed Thursday in an unusual Mossad announcement regarding an Iranian attempt to infiltrate terrorists into Israel to assassinate senior officials.<\/p>\n

The November elections in the United States are viewed in Tehran as a possible constraint on an American response. From Iran\u2019s perspective, Israeli involvement could also embarrass the U.S. administration and shape how the conflict is perceived.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d8\u05e8\u05d0\u05de\u05e4<\/a>\"\u05d8\u05e8\u05d0\u05de\u05e4<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump told Axios that he was considering a ‘massive attack, bigger than ever before’ against Iran <\/p>\n

(Photo: AP Photo\/Erik S. Lesser)<\/p>\n

Trump added that Israel \u201cwould join in two minutes if I ask them to,\u201d but stressed that the United States did not need Israeli or allied assistance to launch the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need anybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump also said Israeli participation would carry \u201cconsequences,\u201d apparently referring to the likelihood that Iran would retaliate by firing missiles at Israel.<\/p>\n

According to Trump, Tehran wants negotiations but is not yet prepared to reach an agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t received enough pain yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Axios reported that two regional officials familiar with mediation efforts said Iran\u2019s leadership had not accepted the latest U.S. proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying, but the Iranians are not being helpful,\u201d one of them said.<\/p>\n

For now, the IDF has informed local authorities that Home Front Command instructions remain unchanged and that no order has been issued to open public shelters.<\/p>\n

Should the instructions change, the military said, the public will be updated through the Home Front Command\u2019s official platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western intelligence agencies assess that Iran may try to draw Israel into a renewed confrontation and could even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-557223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557223","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=557223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}