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Trump’s Iran ‘Nuclear’ Signals Raise Concerns in Tel Aviv

US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Trump’s Iran ‘Nuclear’ Signals Raise Concerns in Tel Aviv

US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is concerned about signals from US President-elect Donald Trump, particularly regarding Iran and the West Bank, political sources in Tel Aviv said.

The sources indicated Trump is seeking a nuclear deal with Tehran rather than a military strike and appears unsupportive of any Israeli move to annex the West Bank.

Trump’s aim, the sources added, is to send a clear message to Iran that both military and diplomatic options remain on the table to address its nuclear threat.

He is also leveraging the possibility of an Israeli attack as a means of pressure.

Trump is reluctant to go to war with Iran and does not see the need to completely destroy its nuclear facilities, a goal Israel cannot achieve alone, political sources said.

The US President-elect favors a major Israeli strike supported by the United States from a distance rather than a large-scale joint military operation, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is pushing for.

Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS reported that Trump told Netanyahu he would address Iran’s nuclear program but opposed Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

The report added that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comment that “2025 will be the year of annexation” drew criticism from Republican Party sources, who warned that annexation would harm Israel’s international standing.

Israeli media said Trump and Netanyahu held talks on Saturday, while Netanyahu’s envoy, Adam Boehler, held meetings in Israel to discuss key issues.

Israeli analysts said on Monday that Netanyahu is unlikely to order a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, citing domestic divisions over judicial reforms and a lack of clear support from Trump.

They noted Iran has not yet decided to build a nuclear weapon, reducing the urgency for military action.

Nahum Barnea, a columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth, said regional developments in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza, along with changes in US leadership, have created a rare opportunity to strike Iran.

“Iran’s air defenses are weaker, flight paths are open, and the threat of an Iranian counterattack has diminished,” Barnea wrote.

Still, he said Netanyahu remains hesitant, recalling how the prime minister abandoned a similar plan in 2011 and blamed Israeli security officials and the Obama administration for the retreat.

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World

IRGC Signals Shift Toward Wider, More Offensive War

An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US billboard in Enghelab Square in central Tehran (EPA) 
An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US billboard in Enghelab Square in central Tehran (EPA) 
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IRGC Signals Shift Toward Wider, More Offensive War

An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US billboard in Enghelab Square in central Tehran (EPA) 
An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US billboard in Enghelab Square in central Tehran (EPA) 

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps official has warned that Iran could shift from defensive to offensive military operations, as Tehran and allied armed groups in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon reportedly prepare plans to broaden the conflict and raise the cost for the United States and its allies.

Yadollah Javani, the IRGC’s deputy for political affairs, told Iranian state television that Iran’s military actions had so far been defensive because its adversaries had started the war, but could become offensive in the future.

He said the armed forces would adopt new approaches following recent appointments and directives from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and warned Iran’s adversaries to expect what he described as strategic surprises.

The warning came as a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran would escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region if diplomacy with Washington failed.

The official said Iran had decided to shift from a defensive posture to a “fully offensive” one and had given the United States “a few weeks” to fully implement the memorandum of understanding. The official noted that relying on pressure or mediators to secure a lasting agreement was no longer considered realistic.

Javani reiterated Iran’s position that ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz depended on Washington fulfilling its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum. He said the waterway and the arrangements governing it would not return to their prewar status, adding that Iran’s talks with Oman over a shipping corridor concerned the period after hostilities had definitively ended.

He described Khamenei’s recent military appointments as a restructuring aimed at adapting Iran’s defense doctrine to current conditions. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the IRGC commander, has also spoken of moving from a defensive military doctrine toward a more offensive approach.

IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Mostafa Izadi, meanwhile, claimed Iran had endured the war, sanctions and blockade while spending only a fraction of what its adversaries had spent. He also claimed Iranian forces had shot down more than 200 aircraft during the conflict.

At the same time, intercepted communications and intelligence indicate that the IRGC has been working with allies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon on plans to expand the battlefield, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing regional officials.

According to the newspaper, Tehran used the relative lull following the June 17 memorandum with Washington to reorganize its military and security structure, rebuild capabilities and prepare for a broader confrontation, based on an assessment that war remained the most likely scenario and negotiations might amount only to a temporary pause.

Preparations reportedly included giving the IRGC greater influence over the regular military, reorganizing the chain of command, expanding counterintelligence efforts and accelerating missile and drone production while improving accuracy.

Iran also dispatched advisers and commanders to allied armed groups to discuss a possible expansion of the fighting. Plans included positioning missiles, naval weapons and drone launchers near the Red Sea, supplying allies with intelligence, target lists and operational advice, and threatening regional energy facilities if the United States struck similar infrastructure inside Iran.

Other options reportedly under consideration include preemptive strikes, operations on adversaries’ territory, possible sabotage of undersea internet cables, and greater use of the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea to exert military and economic pressure.

The military restructuring has also placed veteran security figures in key positions, including Mohsen Rezaei, Hossein Taeb, Ali Abdollahi and Ahmad Vahidi, as Tehran prepares for the possibility of a broader confrontation.

World

Russia Downs 180 Drones in Moscow Region Overnight

Pedestrians walk past a destroyed DIY and construction materials mall "Galaktika" following an overnight attack, which local Russian-installed officials called Ukrainian drone strikes, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on August 16, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by AFP)
Pedestrians walk past a destroyed DIY and construction materials mall "Galaktika" following an overnight attack, which local Russian-installed officials called Ukrainian drone strikes, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on August 16, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by AFP)
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Russia Downs 180 Drones in Moscow Region Overnight

Pedestrians walk past a destroyed DIY and construction materials mall "Galaktika" following an overnight attack, which local Russian-installed officials called Ukrainian drone strikes, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on August 16, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by AFP)
Pedestrians walk past a destroyed DIY and construction materials mall "Galaktika" following an overnight attack, which local Russian-installed officials called Ukrainian drone strikes, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on August 16, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by AFP)

Russia downed 180 drones in the Moscow region overnight, the capital's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on the Telegram messaging app early on Tuesday, in one of the biggest Ukrainian air ‌attacks on ‌the Russian capital.

Drones ‌hit ⁠a warehouse of ⁠Russian e-commerce company Wildberries and other facilities near Moscow, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said separately, adding that at least three ⁠people, including a 10-year-old ‌girl, were ‌injured in the region, reported Reuters.

Wildberries, a ‌frequent target of ‌Kyiv's attacks following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, said in a statement that the ‌warehouse experienced minor damage after drone debris hit ⁠one ⁠of its walls.

Overall, 620 drones were heading for the region surrounding the Russian capital between Monday evening and 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to Sobyanin, and Moscow was temporarily restricting flights at its airports.

World

UKMTO: Vessel Struck by Unknown Projectile in Strait of Hormuz, Crew Casualty Reported

Archive photo of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz (AFP)
Archive photo of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz (AFP)
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UKMTO: Vessel Struck by Unknown Projectile in Strait of Hormuz, Crew Casualty Reported

Archive photo of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz (AFP)
Archive photo of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz (AFP)

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received a report on Tuesday that a vessel was struck ‌by an ‌unknown projectile ‌while ⁠transiting outbound in the ⁠Strait of Hormuz, causing engine room damage and a crew casualty, with the ⁠remaining crew being ‌assisted ‌by the Omani Coast ‌Guard, Reuters said.

No environmental impact ‌has been reported and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said.

The incident ‌comes as shipping through the Strait of ⁠Hormuz remains ⁠severely disrupted, with vessel crossings still in the single digits, down from more than 130 a day before the war.