Israeli Army Warns of Threats Against Iran: A Misunderstanding That Could Ignite War

SadaNews - Senior officers in the Israeli army have warned that statements and threats from Israeli political and security officials against Iran could lead to igniting a new war between the two sides. However, it is expected that these Israeli threats will continue until the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump at the end of this month.

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" noted today, Tuesday, that the Israeli statements against Iran distract attention in Israel from the formation of a government committee to investigate the failures of October 7, which has faced widespread opposition and criticism of Netanyahu's government, as well as Israel's procrastination in starting to implement the second phase of Trump's plan regarding the Gaza Strip, forcing Netanyahu to approve it.

According to the newspaper, the words of a "senior political official" or "intelligence entities in the West" published in Israeli media could lead to a real security deterioration "due to misunderstandings with the Iranians," which could set off another war under the pretext that "neither side intended to initiate it during this period."

The newspaper quoted senior officers in the Israeli army warning repeatedly, especially after the war against Iran last June, that "a mistake in dealing with Iran could be the primary catalyst for reigniting tensions between the two sides, rather than due to any genuine intention from Israel or Iran."

The newspaper claimed that evaluations of the situation in Iran are primarily based on Israeli publications due to the difficulty of espionage in Israel, and that "if Iran perceives that winds of war are blowing again from here towards the East, they will consider attacking first this time," as quoted from security officials.

Security officials added that "if they in Israel want to strike there again, or maintain a ceasefire, it would be better for them to remain silent and not flood the media with such headlines. It is possible that the unusual activities monitored by Western intelligence agencies in Iran stem from baseless rumors circulated in Telegram accounts in Israel concerning readiness for escalation."

According to the newspaper, the Israeli army expressed skepticism yesterday about the successive statements from the political level in Israel in recent days, and that the objective of the training conducted by the Iranian army this month, for example, does not necessarily indicate readiness for an attack against Israel.

Israeli security officials estimate that "Iran has no interest in seeking revenge against Israel until it improves its capabilities, learns lessons from its military failures last summer, and strengthens its capability for intelligence gathering and arms supply to Hezbollah and the Houthis."

The newspaper added that the leadership of the Israeli army recently mentioned that the Israeli security apparatus should also "draw many lessons" from the war against Iran. An Israeli senior officer stated that "we burned during the war with Iran a set of advanced capabilities, unprecedented deception, special weapons, confidential technology, and methods we have not used for two decades, to use only against the Iranians," as quoted by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, there are no estimates from Israeli intelligence agencies about whether Hezbollah will join a war between Israel and Iran, or whether Iran will join a war waged by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon, although Hezbollah did not launch rocket fire during the war against Iran, but the Israeli army is preparing for the possibility of Hezbollah joining a new war between Israel and Iran.

In the coming days, the duration of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah will expire without renewal so far. "And since these three open fronts will be at the center of discussions between Trump and Netanyahu, it is not unlikely that Netanyahu will be asked to make concessions to Trump on one front, such as Gaza, in order to gain greater support on another front," according to the newspaper.