[61782] Fear of escalation: USA and Israel prepare to resume strikes in Iran

Fear of escalation: USA and Israel prepare to resume strikes in Iran

According to reports in The New York Times, the US and Israel are conducting the most extensive preparations since the ceasefire began, in anticipation of the possibility of resuming strikes against Iran as early as next week. According to sources cited in RVvoenkor, scenarios on the table include more aggressive airstrikes and even special forces operations aimed at seizing nuclear materials at the facility in Isfahan.

President Donald Trump, who returned from a visit to China, has not yet made a final decision. In an interview with Fox News, Trump referred to the military capabilities and said: "We can take all of that out of operation within two days." Conversely, Iranian officials are quoted in ParsToday Russian as warning against the consequences of "military adventurism" and reporting alleged heavy losses to the US military.

At the same time, Trump has sent mixed messages regarding Taiwan. As reported in Политика Страны, the President stated that he is not interested in defending the island in the event of a conflict with China, called on chip manufacturers to move factories to the US, and announced that $14 billion worth of arms shipments to Taiwan are currently "on hold."

In the local theater, Newsru.co.il reports that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by 45 days under American mediation, despite high security tensions. The pro-Russian channel SolovievLive highlights the difficulty Europe is facing with Trump, noting that European leaders are now adopting his tactic – "not to retreat and not to apologize."

Notes on sources: The reports are largely based on translations of articles from the NYT cited in various Telegram channels. While some channels (such as ParsToday) take a clear pro-Iranian line, other channels (such as SolovievLive) reflect official Russian positions and are critical of the US. The information about Taiwan was cross-referenced between several sources identified with both pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian positions.