Some commentators suggest Donald Trump’s remark that the US may leave Iran “very soon” could be part of a ruse so that Iran lets its guard down before the launch of a ground invasion.
But there is a general sense that Israel must be ready for a speedier US exit from the war than it might like.
While key Iranian leaders are dead and Tehran’s military capabilities have been badly hit, there is an assumption that the regime will try to rebuild and will continue to pose a threat to Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbours.
Israeli officials have suggested that beyond the end to this war, Israel will continue to carry out strategic attacks in Iran.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also dangled the possibility of new defence ties with Gulf Arab countries who have recently found themselves under attack. Currently, Israel has only normalised relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Gulf.
Netanyahu said in an address on Tuesday that Israel was “forming new alliances with important countries in the region against the common Iranian threat”
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