Amid Iran strike plans, US affirms Israel’s right to act if ceasefire with Lebanon is broken

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Israel is planning a preemptive strike against Iran and has identified a new list of targets aimed at further destroying military and strategic facilities not included in its recent attack. 

According to an Israeli military official, these targets will be surprising in both scale and severity.

Despite reports suggesting that Iran shows no signs of responding to the Israeli attack—despite its threats to do so—Tel Aviv believes the current opportunity is too valuable to pass up, especially after its recent strike, to complete the destruction of Iran’s offensive and defensive capabilities.

Israel’s strike planning coincided with discussions in Tel Aviv between Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the Commander of the U.S. Central Command, and Israeli officials on cooperation to counter the risk of an Iranian response to Israel.

Regarding the ongoing conflict with Lebanon, and in contrast to the disappointment stirred by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements following his meetings with White House Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, Washington has confirmed that progress is expected in the coming days.

An informed Israeli official disclosed that the U.S. is set to present Lebanon and Israel with two draft proposals.

The first draft reaffirms the U.S. commitment to ensuring Israel’s freedom to act in Lebanon if the ceasefire agreement is violated.

The second includes amendments to the draft discussed by Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, among them establishing an international framework to address and resolve any breaches of the agreement, with a timetable set by the accord. Should efforts to prevent violations by Hezbollah fail, Israel would retain the right to act.

Meanwhile, internal disagreements over the situation in Lebanon are deepening. The Israeli army previously announced its ability to conclude ground operations and withdraw from Lebanon within days, while Netanyahu and his government argue that conditions are not yet ripe for such a withdrawal.

According to the Maariv newspaper, 45% of Israelis support reaching an agreement to end the war in Lebanon, while 33% back the continuation of ground operations and maintaining a buffer zone established by the Israeli army. Another 22% remain undecided.