FLASH
Shkruar nga Cordelia Lynch
Israel has a strong advantage in this conflict. It has overthrown Iran's top leaders and their replacements. It has taken control of the skies over Tehran and is not ruling out regime change.
And Benjamin Netanyahu, who just a week ago was facing major political opposition, now has the support of the public and even his opponents. But Iran’s supreme leader is not backing down — vowing to stand firm and warning the United States that it would face grave risks if it joined the fray.
Yaakov Amidror, the former head of Israel’s National Security Council, believes that this is an empty threat.
"I think the Iranians are using irrelevant language. They are bluffing. They don't have the capabilities they had two years ago. Hezbollah is gone. Hamas doesn't exist as a threat," he told me.
Amidror, who participated in high-level talks with US officials about the Iranian nuclear program when he was national security adviser, believes that Israel needs the US for only one thing - for bunker-busting bombs to destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear plant.
"We don't have the capabilities to destroy from the air. The Americans have better capabilities to do this from the air. And for that, we need the Americans," he said.
The big question is how willing is the US to get involved?
Donald Trump spent the first months of his term thwarting Israel's efforts to attack Iran's nuclear program. Now he appears to be seriously considering using American aircraft in war.
Whatever he decides, on the streets of Tel Aviv, there is surprising support and even a little arrogance about the Israeli offensive.
Iran recently issued an evacuation notice for residents of Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighborhood built outside the old port city of Jaffa. And yet, I met people who not only seemed unfazed by this threat, but also confident for the days and perhaps weeks ahead.
Many people I have spoken to recently in Israel believe that Netanyahu has acted at a critical time and successfully - even if they have been critical of his leadership on many other fronts.
Many Israelis have grown up believing that Iran is an existential threat. But this is a dangerous moment. And there is still no white flag. All eyes are now on the United States and a leader who could change very quickly./ SkyNews
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