TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel backs the U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and is preparing to restart the war if necessary, officials said Monday.
Israel is maintaining the ceasefire in Iran while continuing to strike in Lebanon and is in close consultation with Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting.
“The fighting continues, it has not stopped,” Netanyahu said, referencing his Sunday visit to Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon.
A first round of negotiations on disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon and normalizing relations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to take place in Washington on Tuesday.
Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa will lead their respective delegations at the talks at the State Department, two people familiar with the matter said. They were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
Lebanon’s prime minister had originally been scheduled to travel to the U.S. this week, but postponed the trip on Saturday, citing “the current internal situation” in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military is on high alert to restart the fighting if necessary.
“We are discussing the reinforcement of our high level of readiness and our preparations for the continuation of the campaign,” Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said Monday in a meeting of top military officials.
Netanyahu said he also spoke with Vice President JD Vance, who called to brief him on his way home from failed talks with Iran in Islamabad.
President Donald Trump’s “central issue” is removing “all enriched material and ensuring there is no more enrichment in the coming years in Iran,” a position Israel shares, Netanyahu said.
“We of course, support this firm stance, and we are in constant coordination with the U.S.,” he added.
Netanyahu denied any disagreement between the U.S. and Israel over how to prosecute the war with Iran.
In Israel there is widespread disappointment that the fighting ended and Netanyahu is under intense pressure to show the Israeli public that the war accomplished the aims he set out at the beginning: creating conditions for a new regime in Iran and removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Only 10 percent of Israelis believe the campaign so far constitutes a significant success, compared to 32 percent who see it as a failure, according to a poll released late last week after the ceasefire started. And 70 percent believe the ceasefire is an American concession to Iran, with two-thirds of Israelis saying they opposed it in the poll conducted by Agam Labs at Hebrew University.
For now, Israel is waiting to see how Trump will respond.
“We are a satellite state now more than ever,” a former senior Israeli official said, granted anonymity to speak candidly about Israeli strategy.
