Israel Sits in Limbo 5 Months After February Iran Strikes as U.S.-Iran Clash Shifts
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
Israel Sits in Limbo 5 Months After February Iran Strikes as U.S.-Iran Clash Shifts
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
Summary
Israel has remained on the sidelines as U.S.-Iran tensions swing from talks to threats and strikes in the Persian Gulf, leaving the country in what many Israelis see as an uneasy limbo.
February’s U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran ended in a nominal cease-fire, but civilians now fear being stranded abroad or sent back to bomb shelters if fighting resumes.
Israeli military planners also face uncertainty as forces are already engaged in Gaza and Lebanon and still do not know whether to prepare for renewed war or prolonged restraint.
Polls show Israelis feel less secure now than before the February attack, even though many still see this tense standoff as preferable to a wider regional war.
That anxiety is sharpened by a policy gap with Washington: Trump wants to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and push Iran back to talks, while many in Israel fear a U.S.-Iran deal like the June memorandum.