Mural in Tehran<\/p>\n
A military confrontation between the US and Iran could begin in the coming days and be an intensive, multi-week campaign, sources said Wednesday, despite ongoing diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n
Former IDF Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin suggested Wednesday that such a confrontation could be imminent.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week I allowed myself to fly to the Munich Security Conference. I would think twice about flying [abroad from Israel] this weekend,\u201d Yadlin told Channel 12 news on Wednesday, a day after a second round of nuclear talks<\/a> was held in Geneva.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are much closer than we were before, but I remind you \u2014 a superpower does not go to war in a matter of days. There is a diplomatic path that must be exhausted,\u201d said Yadlin, who now heads a national security consultancy.<\/p>\n Yadlin added that \u201cmany oppose the attack. The Pentagon is not clear what they want it to achieve. The president is very determined. The statement that all options are on the table is based on a credible military threat, which comes alongside the preparations off the coast of Iran and in the skies.\u201d<\/p>\n Sources told the Axios news site<\/a> on Wednesday that a potential US-Iran war would be a long, multi-week campaign, with a White House official putting the chances of a strike in the coming weeks at 90 percent.<\/p>\n It would likely be a joint US-Israeli operation, said the source, even larger than the 12-day Israeli-led bombing campaign last June. According to the sources, the war could come earlier than most people expect, and could be far larger than many anticipate. Iranian missiles in June killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel.<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump \u201cis getting fed up,\u201d said a Trump adviser. \u201cSome people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Two Israeli officials told the outlet that Israel is preparing for a war to break out \u201cwithin days,\u201d adding that Israel is pushing an operation aimed at toppling the regime.<\/p>\n Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Wednesday that Israel is facing \u201cchallenging days,\u201d following a hearing with the IDF Home Front Command chief.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no citizen of Israel who doesn\u2019t ask himself several times a day \u2018when will the Iran conflict happen?’\u201d said Bismuth. \u201cThe public is prepared and the authorities are prepared. We in the Knesset are also ensuring that the home front is prepared for every scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran said following the talks on Tuesday in Geneva that the sides had agreed<\/a> on \u201cguiding principles\u201d for a deal to avoid conflict. US Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran<\/a> had not yet acknowledged all of Washington\u2019s red lines.<\/p>\n US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned Wednesday that the United States was determined to deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It\u2019s entirely unacceptable,\u201d Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency.<\/p>\n \u201cSo one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran\u2019s march towards a nuclear weapon,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, open-source flight tracking data showed that the US military had moved dozens of fighter jets toward the Middle East in a day. The aircraft included F-22, F-35, and F-16 jets. Several refuelers were also spotted on the move, according to social media accounts dedicated to tracking military flights.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Iranian media reported Wednesday that Iran and Russia will conduct naval maneuvers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe joint naval exercise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow in the Sea of Oman and in the northern Indian Ocean,\u201d the ISNA agency reported, citing drill spokesman, Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo. \u201cThe aim is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries,\u201d he said, without specifying the duration of the drill.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran\u2019s military, also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region. Iran announced Tuesday that it would partially close the key strait for a few hours for \u201csecurity\u201d reasons during its drills.<\/p>\n