Israel ready to strike Iran with US, but specific joint goals remain unclear, source tells 'Post'

The IDF is ready to strike Iran if US President Donald Trump asks it to join the American air force after the November 3 midterm elections, but uncertainty remains about joint goals, The Jerusalem Post understands. US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has shifted to supporting military pressure after Iran failed to meet Trump's minimum demands.

The IDF is ready to strike Iran if US President Donald Trump asks it to join the American air force in an operation after the November 3 midterm elections, but a wide cloud of uncertainty is hovering over the situation, The Jerusalem Post understands. Part of what is making this attack more likely is that other methods have been tried to obtain Iranian concessions and some of Trump's team is shifting back toward attacking. At earlier points, many of his top advisers, including US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, were skeptical about the utility of attacking. But once the midterms pass, and with Caine now shifting gears to believing Iran will not meet the US president's minimum goals absent additional military pressure, the main bars to the use of force will have been removed. Over the past week, more than 10 US military transport aircraft arrived at Israeli air bases. There are disagreements between the US and Israel about what the goals of such an operation would be. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to talk about regime change, while the IDF's focus tends to be on specific threat reduction items. Trump is much more focused on achieving concessions on the nuclear issue and opening the Strait of Hormuz. US officials are highly concerned about keeping any new operation time-limited, possibly as short as a few days. The article relies on unnamed sources and includes pushback from those who disagree with characterizations of US military positions.