Is a new US-Israeli offensive against Iran imminent?

Washington and Jerusalem have reportedly prepared plans for intensive strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States and Israel have prepared a strategic plan for resuming major military operations against Iran, including intensive aerial bombardments targeting Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities, according to a report by The New York Times.

Citing anonymous American officials, the report said Washington and Jerusalem were preparing a “short but intensive operation” designed to severely damage Iran’s economy and military capabilities, including its missile manufacturing sites and nuclear program.

The report comes amid several recent accounts that Israel had planned to launch another strike against Iran earlier this week, only for President Donald Trump to call off the operation at the last minute.

The prospect of renewed hostilities also raises political questions for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israeli national elections are currently scheduled for October 27.

Mazal Mualem, a former senior political correspondent for Maariv and Haaretz, told the Times that Netanyahu could face serious political consequences if he initiated a military operation that forced a postponement of the elections.

Such a move “would be extremely difficult for him,” Mualem said, warning that it could ultimately backfire politically.

However, she suggested that a different scenario could offer Netanyahu an opportunity to reshape Israel’s political landscape.

If Iran attacked Israel after the election, during the 90-day period in which political parties have an opportunity to form a governing coalition, Netanyahu could use the crisis to push for a sweeping political alliance.

In that situation, he could seek “to call for a broad emergency government,” Mualem said.

Even then, however, Netanyahu would likely encounter significant resistance from political opponents. Mualem said he would still “face deep suspicion from his political rivals.”

Meanwhile, Trump could decide to resume military operations in an effort to break the current impasse, according to Dana Stroul, who served as a senior Middle East policy official at the Pentagon during the Biden administration.

“At this point in the war, what is clear is that the conventional military campaign waged to date, and the current punishing economic sanctions and American naval blockade, have not brought the regime back to the negotiating table in a meaningful way,” Stroul told the Times.