TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel supports the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and is prepared to restart the war if necessary, officials said Monday.
Israel is maintaining a ceasefire in Iran while continuing strikes in Lebanon and is consulting closely with Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting.
“The fighting continues, it has not stopped,” Netanyahu said, referring to his Sunday visit to Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon.
The first round of talks to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon and repair relations between Israel and Lebanon is expectedwill be held in Washington on Tuesday.
Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa will lead their delegations in the talks at the State Department, two people familiar with the matter said. They were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
The Lebanese Prime Minister was originally scheduled to travel to the United States this week, but postponed the trip on Saturday, citing “the current internal situation” in Lebanon.
At the same time, the Israeli army is on alert to resume fighting if necessary.
“We are discussing the strengthening of our high-level readiness and our preparations to continue the campaign,” Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said Monday at a meeting of senior military officials.
Netanyahu said he also spoke with Vice President JD Vance, who called to inform him on his way home from failed talks with Iran in Islamabad.
President Donald Trump’s “main issue” is to remove “all the enriched things and make sure there is no more wealth in the coming years in Iran,” a position Israel shares, Netanyahu said.
“Of course, we support this firm position, and we are in constant coordination with the United States,” he added.
Netanyahu denied a misunderstanding between the US and Israel over how to prosecute a war with Iran.
There is widespread despair in Israel that the fighting is over and Netanyahu is under great pressure to demonstrate to the Israeli public that the war achieved its initial goals: to set the stage for a new regime in Iran and remove the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Only 10 percent of Israelis believe the campaign so far has been a major success, compared to 32 percent who see it as a failure, according to a poll released late last week after the ceasefire began. And 70 percent believe the ceasefire is a U.S. concession to Iran, while two-thirds of Israelis said they were against it in a poll conducted by Agam Labs at Hebrew University.
For now, Israel is waiting to see how Trump will respond.
“We are a satellite nation now more than ever,” said a former senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak openly about Israel’s strategy.
