Israel is lobbying the US to "postpone" a potential attack on Iran in favour of "preparing for a large-scale assault" for a later time, following US-Israeli assessments that a limited operation would "provoke a strong Iranian response", according to Israeli media reports.
This comes amid reports last week that Israel had asked its ally Washington to refrain from attacking Iran amid widespread protests in the country, as it feared that Tehran "might not be weakened enough" for US strikes would deliver a decisive blow.
Arab allies of Washington, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, made a similar request, fearing further destabilisation in the region.
Tel Aviv is also concerned that its missile defence systems are "overstretched" and incapable of tackling an Iranian retaliation, after its arsenal was used extensively during the conflict between the two in June 2025, according to unnamed officials cited by CNN.
According to public broadcaster Kan, citing sources, Tel Aviv believes that US President Donald Trump is still considering military action against Iran, noting that the final decision depends on the course of communications with Tehran, and the objectives of any potential escalation.
Additionally, Israeli security officials reportedly believe that the US forces currently deployed in the region are "insufficient" to carry out a military operation that would completely topple the Iranian regime.
Kan added that senior Israeli military officers held a series of calls with their US counterparts several days ago to discuss the repercussions of any potential attack against Iran.
Trump had threatened to come to the "rescue" of the Iranians if government forces killed them. The protests initially started as demonstrations against economic woes, record-high inflation, and the dwindling value of the Iranian rial currency, before quickly evolving into a broader movement demanding an end to the Iranian regime.
The rallies have been described as the largest since the 1979 Revolution, which saw the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty and the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic.
Thousands of people, including protesters and security forces, have been killed in the demonstrations, which appear to have died down in recent days. The US-based HRANA rights group on Saturday said the death toll exceeded 3,000, while an Iranian official on Sunday said that at least 5,000 have been killed, including 500 security personnel.
Pressure from the United States and Israel on Tehran has been escalating since the outbreak of the protests in late December. Iran has repeatedly accused Washington and Tel Aviv of involvement in the demonstrations, and accused "rioters" of being "foot soldiers" for both.
Tehran has been engaged in a proxy war with Israel for over 40 years, which escalated rapidly during Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, which started in October 2023. Iran and Israel attacked each other on several occasions before Tel Aviv carried out a surprise assault in June last year, which led to the outbreak of the Twelve-Day War. The US joined Israel in those attacks, hitting several key nuclear sites.
Relations between Iran and the US have been turbulent over the past decades following the 1979 Revolution and the hostage crisis that ensued, as well as the fallout over Iran’s nuclear programme.