Israel expects US to delay strike on Iran until elections — Jerusalem Post
Israeli defense officials believe that the White House will not authorize a military operation against Iran before the US midterm elections unless it detects preparations for a surprise attack. At the same time, Israel remains uncertain about preparations for a possible escalation with Tehran, The Jerusalem Post reports.
According to Israeli defense officials, Iran, which is experiencing an economic crisis, will not agree to a deal on fully abandoning its nuclear program and halting the production of ballistic missiles. They believe Tehran is trying to buy time by deliberately prolonging negotiations ahead of the US elections.
US and Israeli preparations
Israeli officials also assess that US Central Command is preparing for a possible strike on Iran. According to the publication, the United States and Israel have also prepared plans to resume strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.
More than 3,000 US service members are in Israel. At the same time, there was no sharp increase during the previous week in the number of US military aircraft redeployed to the country. This differs from the unprecedented deployment of US tanker aircraft that filled the runways at Ben Gurion and Ramon airports and were also present at Israeli Air Force bases.
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Plans for the Gaza Strip
After the US midterm elections, the White House may resume pressure on Jerusalem over the establishment of a Palestinian city on the ruins of Rafah, according to Israel's defense establishment. The United Arab Emirates is expected to provide funding for such a project. According to a source in the defense establishment, the creation of a separate zone in Palestinian territory under a high level of operational control by the Israel Defense Forces has been approved in principle.
The military continues to operate in a designated area in the southern Gaza Strip, searching for unexploded ordnance, explosive devices, and infrastructure above and below ground. Senior defense officials oppose rebuilding Gaza before Hamas is disarmed, the territory is demilitarized, and authority is transferred to another party.
Israel's Southern Command believes that Hamas has no intention of disarming, so the Israel Defense Forces is preparing for a ground operation to capture Gaza City and eliminate the group's infrastructure. Separately, Israeli forces in Hebron were preparing to demolish the homes of the attackers whose attack killed two service members the previous week. According to the publication, the demolition was expected on Saturday.
