Benjamin Netanyahu from his bunker in Tel Aviv gave Israeli commanders a 48-hour deadline to destroy Iran‘s weapons industry after reviewing Donald Trump‘s proposed peace plan to end the war.
The Israel Defense Forces were ordered by Netanyahu to strike as many high-value Iranian targets as possible as the US submitted a 15-point peace plan on Tuesday.
Although the US plan included tight restrictions on Iran’s missile stockpile and nuclear program, Netanyahu and his top military advisers were alarmed it did not go far enough to curb Tehran’s military capabilities.
Netanyahu’s Thursday deadline reflects deep concern within the Israeli government that Trump could reach a deal with Tehran at any moment, sources say.
Israeli officials present at Netanyahu’s underground meeting described the atmosphere as ‘tense.’
The directive came after the Israeli prime minister reviewed a copy of Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war. Iranian regime officials, however, rejected the proposal via state media on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s inner circle is intent on reaching three key war goals: eliminating Iran’s ballistic-missile stockpile, ensuring Tehran cannot develop a nuclear warhead, and fostering an environment within Iran for civilians to overthrow the Islamic regime.
The Trump administration appears to have created distance with their regime change goal after strikes against senior leadership have failed to overthrow the government.
Benjamin Netanyahu from his bunker in Tel Aviv gave Israeli commanders a 48-hour deadline to destroy Iran’s weapons industry
Israel is engaging in a wide range of military strikes across the Middle East, including in Gaza and Lebanon, where Iran’s proxies are active against Netanyahu’s forces (pictured: a fireball erupts following an Israeli strike near a tent encampment sheltering people displaced by war in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on March 25)
Netanyahu’s Thursday deadline reflects deep concern within the Israeli government that Trump could reach a deal with Tehran at any moment
‘If you do not obtain the three objectives, you will not be able to end the war,’ said Boaz Bismuth, a member of Netanyahu’s party, in a prior interview.
As Trump’s attempts for peace appear to be faltering, Pentagon chiefs ordered around 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East last night to join some 4,500 Marines already en route to the region.
The President is prepared to pull the trigger on a full-scale invasion if Tehran continues to rebuff his diplomatic overtures, according to members of his inner circle.
‘Trump has a hand open for a deal, and the other is a fist, waiting to punch you in the f***ing face,’ a Trump aide told Axios.
The 15-point plan, modeled on Trump’s Gaza deal, would require Iran to dismantle all nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, open the Strait of Hormuz, and abandon proxy terror groups.
But Iranian state TV on Wednesday said that the regime had rejected the ceasefire proposal. Instead, Tehran is demanding the closure of all US bases in the Gulf, reparations, and an end to Israeli military strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Tehran is also seeking to bring the strait – a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil – under its control, allowing it to charge transit fees on passing vessels, much like Egypt does with the Suez Canal.
Oil prices lurched widely, with Brent crude prices falling as low as $97 per barrel on Tuesday on news of the peace plan, before rising back to $102 on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s inner circle is intent on reaching three key war goals: eliminating Iran’s ballistic-missile stockpile, ensuring Tehran cannot develop a nuclear warhead, and fostering an environment within Iran for civilians to overthrow the Islamic regime
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran
Speaker of the Iranian parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in Tehran, Iran, February 1
The Trump administration appears to have created distance with their regime change goal after strikes against senior leadership have failed to overthrow the government
Israeli strikes in Gaza earlier on Wednesday
A Trump official described Iran’s demands as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unrealistic’, warning that reaching a deal is now more difficult than before the war began as the President prepares a potential ground invasion force.
US and Iranian diplomats have not spoken through direct contact and instead communicate via Middle Eastern intermediaries from Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan.
The President called for a one-month ceasefire on Tuesday during which the two sides could thrash out the negotiations on the 15-point peace plan.
The plan now stands in complete contrast to the demands being issued from Tehran.
Ceding control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a non-starter for Saudi Arabia as Riyadh urges Trump to stay in the fight.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly urged Trump to finish the Islamic regime in calls over the last week, including the use of ground forces to seize Iran’s energy sites.
Iran remains wary of Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, accusing them of ‘backstabbing’ Tehran in negotiations before the US and Israel launched strikes on February 28.
Iranian officials are pushing for Vice President JD Vance to lead the US negotiating team, believing he is sympathetic after privately expressing doubts about Operation Epic Fury.
