(July 27, 2026 \/ Israel Hayom)\n <\/p>\n
Israel remains on high alert amid the latest Mideast developments, even after expectations of a powerful United States attack on Iran over the weekend gave way to what appeared to be a continuation of contacts between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n
Despite conflicting reports, Israeli officials claim they were not surprised that U.S. President Donald Trump did not order an intensified round of strikes over the weekend. They stressed, however, that Israel\u2019s position remained unchanged. It is prepared to act defensively and offensively if necessary.<\/p>\n
Should Iran decide to attack Israel, or should Trump ask Israel to join the campaign, the Israeli security establishment is ready and on alert.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have nevertheless expressed concern that, despite the apparent return to close cooperation between the governments in Jerusalem and Washington, coordination between the two countries must be strengthened after having seen better days.<\/p>\n
That, Israeli officials say, is why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s trip to the U.S. this week is critical. The visit will culminate in a meeting with Trump, five months after the two leaders last met in person. Netanyahu\u2019s previous trip to Washington took place in February, two weeks before the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran known as \u201cOperation Roaring Lion\/Epic Fury.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, Netanyahu also traveled to Washington against the backdrop of increasingly intensive talks between the U.S. and Iran aimed at reaching an agreement. Those efforts ultimately ended with an unprecedented combined attack on Iran and its senior leadership.<\/p>\n
This time, too, Netanyahu hopes to secure renewed coordination regarding future U.S. action against Iran. At the very least, he intends to raise Israel\u2019s interests in his conversation with Trump and, no less important, in meetings with senior U.S. administration officials.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu is expected to fly to the U.S. aboard Wing of Zion, Israel\u2019s official state aircraft, on Monday. He is scheduled to meet Trump on Tuesday and later attend the funeral of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.<\/p>\n
\u2018They\u2019re getting more serious\u2019<\/p>\n
Trump addressed the Iran situation on Saturday, saying: \u201cWe\u2019re talking to them right now. I think they\u2019re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason. They\u2019re the most serious they\u2019ve ever been. I always prefer the alternative,\u201d Trump continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re locked and loaded. We\u2019re ready to go. But we\u2019re talking to them, so we\u2019ll see what comes of those talks. I believe they\u2019re very serious. They had better be. We\u2019re ready. We\u2019re talking to them. Maybe there will be, maybe there won\u2019t be a tipping point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump again emphasized the ability of the U.S. to intensify the war. \u201cThere are two ways,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this is the smarter way, but the other way is probably the easier way, and that is to continue doing what we\u2019re doing. We can take it to a much higher level if we want to. You know, we\u2019re ready to do that. Maybe they\u2019ll cry uncle, maybe they\u2019ll just give up, or maybe they\u2019ll simply go into a cave and hide,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t elected, Israel would, in my opinion, not be around anymore. They would have been hit by a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump concluded.<\/p>\n