Israel is reportedly unwilling to back down, hoping the Iran conflict continues for at least another month.

△March 29, Tehran, the capital of Iran

On the 7th, the White House said that both the United States and Israel have agreed to a conditional ceasefire with Iran for two weeks. However, two former senior Israeli officials said that Israel believes it is too early for a ceasefire and hopes that military operations against Iran will continue for at least another month.

Late on the evening of the 7th, U.S. Eastern Time, President Trump posted on social media saying that he “agreed to suspend the bombing and attack operations against Iran for two weeks,” on the condition that Iran agrees to “fully, immediately, and safely” open the Strait of Hormuz. At this time, it was less than one and a half hours since Trump’s so-called “final deadline” for Iran. The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council later released a statement saying that Iran will hold two-week political talks with the United States in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

Before announcing that it agreed to the ceasefire, Trump kept escalating threats against Iran, even threatening that “all civilizations will perish.” Many European countries urged the U.S. to exercise restraint. But at this time, Israeli officials sent a different message, saying that the operation had not ended and that it was a key moment to increase pressure on Iran.

Two former Israeli senior officials with ties to the military revealed that Israel wants its military operations against Iran to continue for at least another month. They said that Israel hopes to achieve its long-term goal of weakening the Iranian regime until its final collapse, even if it takes several months or years.

One of the former officials said that Israel estimates that the Iranian regime’s collapse could be accelerated by “another one or two months” of military operations.

Some commentary said that the remarks by these two former officials have added “footnotes” to the public information issued by the Israeli government.

In a video statement released on the afternoon of the 7th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Iran is no longer that Iran, and Israel is no longer that Israel. We are fundamentally changing the balance of power.”

Eyal Zamir, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, also hinted that the fighting is entering a decisive stage, not a moment of ending. On the 7th, when he met with Israel Defense Forces commanders, he said that the joint military action by Israel and the United States against Iran “is about to reach a strategic crossroads,” adding, “we will continue to take action firmly.”

According to disclosures from the U.S., under the two-week conditional ceasefire agreement, U.S. airstrikes against Iran have already been suspended.

Meanwhile, according to a report from Israel on the 8th, Israeli forces are “striking” launch sites within Iran. On that day, an Israeli security official said, “Although the ceasefire matter has been announced, the Israeli Air Force is still continuing to strike Iran.”

In a statement released on the 8th, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said that Israel supports Trump’s decision to pause the ceasefire with Iran for two weeks, but the ceasefire does not include Lebanon.

In addition, according to reports from the U.S. on the 7th, when Netanyahu secretly visited the White House on February 11 to “pitch” the plan for joint strikes against Iran, several U.S. government cabinet members and intelligence officials at the time believed that Israel’s objectives were detached from reality.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed after being attacked. Iran then launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East region and Israeli targets, severely disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and dealing a serious blow to the security of international energy supply.

（Source: CCTV News Client）