Dr. Eyal Hulata, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, estimates that the United States has not yet decided whether to attack Iran and that significant considerations are still being weighed.
“It doesn’t look like Trump has made a decision. This is not how you organize an attack-when you talk about it so much. The Americans would also need an element of surprise, at least tactically. The fact that everyone is talking about it nonstop is a sign that it’s not really happening," Hulata said in an interview with 103FM.
According to him, “It’s hard to understand what the Americans truly plan to do. Perhaps, as a result of the pressure, they will manage to get the Iranian leader to say he agrees to their terms, come to the negotiating table, and halt the nuclear program, including enrichment. He is weak right now and has no cards to play-so everything is a matter of power equations."
In any case, Hulata believes Trump is not interested in a broad attack. He also argues that the current timing is not ideal. “The protests have been completely crushed, there are apparently tens of thousands of Iranian fatalities, and the public has been driven back into their homes. If this ends without a coup and without success, it’s not good for President Trump," he said. “This is a mass slaughter on a scale we haven’t seen within just a few days. The fact that this is happening in our region should shake the foundations. The Iranian people want the world to know what has happened to them and expect backing and support."
He added, “What the Iranian regime has done to its own people is a horrific and unprecedented event. Most of the world does not believe such actions should be answered with a military strike, and President Trump has spoken differently. There was an American window of opportunity that was significant both for the Iranian public and for catching the regime before it organized and hid its assets-and it’s possible that window has passed."
Asked whether an American strike would necessarily lead to an Iranian attack on Israel, Dr. Hulata replied, “Necessarily is a strong word. I think it would be a very big mistake on their part to attack Israel in response to an American strike. Israel would respond forcefully, and those would be very expensive and critical infrastructure targets for the Iranian regime and economy. Israel would be freer to act in this regard than the Americans."