Israeli Media Acknowledge Strategic Defeat, Iran’s Decisive Role in Recent Escalation
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Israeli media outlets have published numerous reports and analyses detailing the strategic defeat suffered by the Israeli regime in the latest round of Iranian missile attacks on occupied territories, a response to violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Ronen Bergman, a journalist and military-political analyst for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, wrote in an analysis that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calculations appeared to be based on escalating tensions to draw the United States into a confrontation, thereby allowing Israel to complete unfinished business from previous encounters with Iran.
Bergman suggested that Tel Aviv likely estimated that a few days of intense conflict, even if initiated by Israel, would ultimately bring the U.S. into the fray. However, this scenario not only failed to materialize but had the opposite effect.
He added that Donald Trump not only refrained from entering the war but also halted the Israeli regime, creating a situation where Tel Aviv was stopped, and Iran fired the decisive shots.
Bergman stated, “It was the Iranians who had the final say, not us.” He elaborated that Iran determined when the war would stop, the number of projectiles fired, and their launch locations. From a cognitive and strategic perspective, he described this as a very painful outcome for Israel, as it allowed Iran to portray itself as having responded, not retreated, and concluded the exchange of fire on its own terms.
The Israeli analyst emphasized that if Trump, as he indicated in a recent phone call with Netanyahu, moves towards signing an agreement with Iran, this would be an undesirable development for Tel Aviv and not a strategic achievement whatsoever.
Bergman asserted that Israel failed in its attempts to reignite conflict, draw the United States into a wider confrontation, and solidify its dominance. Now, it may face an American-Iranian agreement that it opposes.
He characterized this situation not as a tactical error but as a strategic embarrassment, writing that less than 24 hours were sufficient to reveal the limitations of Tel Aviv’s power, its deep reliance on the United States, and the gap between Tel Aviv’s desire for escalation and Washington’s reluctance for a large-scale war.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv’s efforts to separate the fronts of Iran and Hezbollah have encountered numerous difficulties, and the recent events occurred under Trump’s directive.
The Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Israeli leaders are deeply disappointed and concerned by the new situation.
According to the newspaper, Iran has succeeded in imposing an equation on the Israeli regime that Tel Aviv cannot cope with. This equation suggests that any Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut could be met with missile launches from Iran, potentially from Yemen.
