The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran late Wednesday and into early Thursday morning after striking Iranian targets a day earlier in retaliation for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which the Islamic Republic responded to by attacking sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The Israeli defense establishment was reportedly keeping a close eye on the rising tensions, amid concerns the fighting could quickly escalate and draw Israel back in.
Israeli television also reported the US was returning its refueling planes to the region, after they were removed during the ceasefire that began in early April. Some of the planes, whose presence is a potential signal of the war restarting, were previously parked at Ben Gurion Airport.
According to Channel 12 news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz were holding a security consultation on Wednesday evening, a day after the US and Iran resumed attacks.
Tehran fired on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the US to hit Iranian targets overnight Tuesday-Wednesday and Iran to retaliate against US targets in the Gulf. Iranian state media reported that eight members of the Iranian navy and air force were killed in US attacks on southern parts of the country, in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.
On Wednesday, following those strikes, lead mediator Pakistan urged restraint. But both the US and Iran used bellicose rhetoric, with Iran threatening to close the strait and US President Donald Trump first declaring that the memorandum of understanding between the countries was “over,” then sending mixed signals over whether, or how much, fighting would continue.
“I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder,” Trump said Wednesday during a press conference at the conclusion of a NATO summit in Ankara.
“Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly, and we’ll only make it safer — including for oil,” Trump stressed, adding that the US has managed to get significant amounts of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz since the MOU was reached last month.
“We’re not looking for long-term,” Trump said. He then said, paradoxically, “I’m not sure I want to make a deal. Let’s just finish the job.”
In Truth Social posts accompanying images he shared of what he indicated were US strikes in Iran, which he called “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran,” Trump warned, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
One of the photographs he posted was apparently not from the latest strikes.
In further remarks, Trump later claimed Iran “called a little while ago, they want to make a deal so badly.”
“I just don’t if they are worthy of making a deal. I don’t know if they are going to honor a deal, that’s the problem,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked why Iran would attack commercial ships if it wants to reach an agreement as he claimed, Trump said, “they’re sort of a crazy. They’re a little bit out of control, but they want to make a deal — badly.”
He again warned Iran against attacking US targets, saying “every time they hit us we’re going to hit them twenty[fold].” Trump stressed he did not know if the sides were heading toward a full resumption of activities.
US Vice President JD Vance also said that the US would “knock the hell out of” Iran if it kept firing at ships.
“The basic deal that we cut was we’ll lift our blockade if you stop shooting at ships — but if you shoot at ships, we are going to punch back, and we’re going to punch back harder than ever before,” he said at an event, according to CNN.
While the most recent exchange of fire has remained confined to the Gulf and has not spilled over into Israel, Jerusalem is preparing for multiple scenarios, given concerns that the situation could deteriorate rapidly, Channel 12 reported.
The IDF has reportedly raised its level of readiness across the board, maintaining both defensive and offensive preparations. The military was said to have operational plans ready, fighter jets armed and on standby, and target banks prepared based on updated intelligence.
The report added that the IDF is maintaining close coordination with US Central Command to ensure Israel is prepared for any sudden escalation and was not caught by surprise. The escalation with Iran is likely being seen as a welcome development in Israel, which was not a party to the US-Iran talks, has been wary of them, and has sought to further weaken Tehran’s military and regime.
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