Netanyahu Urged Strikes on Iranian Energy Sites, Trump Held Him Back

A series of intense calls and discussions took place last night, Sunday, among top Israeli and American officials before Israel carried out a strike in Iran. During the marathon talks between senior officials in Jerusalem and the political leadership in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, who delivered a clear message about the expected response and told him, "Strike and close the event." Israeli sources briefed on the contents of the call said the president meant that Israel should act, but "not attack in a way that would lead to war." The Americans understood that Israel was determined to respond, unlike the public messages Trump had conveyed before speaking with the prime minister. As a result, Washington worked to limit the intensity of the strike and the scope of the Israeli operation. Alongside that call, Netanyahu also held detailed conversations with several other senior American officials, including the U.S. secretary of state and the secretary of defense. In the call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the sides went into highly significant details regarding the nature of the planned strike. At the same time, deep disagreements emerged inside Israel's small cabinet over the scope of the targets. In internal discussions held last night, ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir demanded a much broader operation, including, among other things, the possibility of striking Iranian energy facilities. By contrast, Netanyahu made clear to them the diplomatic consequences of such a move. Once again standing לצד Netanyahu and opposing the expansion of the operation was Shas chairman Aryeh Deri. Earlier this evening, Netanyahu issued a statement, about a day after the fighting with Iran began, and said, "Right now the fire on the Iranian front is contained, because after we hit the terror regime in Tehran, it stopped attacking us. If it resumes doing so, we will respond with force." He said Iran and Hezbollah are weaker than ever, and we are stronger than ever. "Our struggle is not yet over," he added. He also said that "in the past day, Iran and Hezbollah tried to impose on us a new and intolerable equation, which we do not accept." Meanwhile, a senior security source said the air force "used only 5 percent of its strength," and added, "The IDF was ordered by the political echelon to stop the strikes." According to him, "There was no round, because we did not start one. It was 'an exchange of fire.' If we had continued, we would have continued with full force." In the operation, the same senior source said, eight advanced Iranian surface-to-air missile launchers and two radar systems were struck. Dozens of fighter jets, mainly F-16s, took part in the strikes. The Iranians, by contrast, launched 22 missiles, but none fell in populated areas. The senior source also referred to international involvement and revealed that, contrary to denials in the United States, the Americans took active part and in practice participated in intercepting the missiles. Regarding the northern front and threats from Lebanon, he stressed, "If there is an attempt to thwart, we will thwart." Defense Minister Israel Katz also said, "The Dahieh in Beirut is treated the same as the communities in the north. Any attack on the communities in the north will lead to an attack in the Dahieh. The IDF will continue to operate in Lebanon against Hezbollah." Katz added that Israel "rejects Iran's threats outright. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday." Earlier, Iran announced it was stopping its fire, and shortly before that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke. Afterwards, reports from Lebanon said there were Israeli strikes in the Tyre area, and at the same time an Israeli official said, "Israel will respond if attacked," but "the feeling is that this round is behind us. We are awaiting a final decision from the political leadership." About two hours before the Iranian announcement, Trump warned in a post on his social network TRUTH that "Israel and Iran must stop the fire immediately," even though IDF sources had said earlier, "We are in full coordination with the United States." Trump later posted again and wrote, "Both sides, Israel and Iran, want an immediate ceasefire. The final negotiation on 'peace' is underway, subject to the ignorance or stupidity that stands in its way. The siege will remain in force, and in full strength, until a 'final deal' is reached. Things must move quickly."