JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The statement made on Monday night by Donald Trump gave the oxygen and adrenaline that Iran and Hezbollah needed during their attempts to survive the onslaught of Israel and the US, according to Maariv military analyst Avi Ashkenazi.

Trump signaled that the war may be approaching its end. The surge in fuel prices, domestic pressure, the cost of the war to American taxpayers, and above all the fear in the United States of becoming entangled in an “Iranian quagmire” pushed the U.S. president to indicate the direction: moving toward an exit from the war.

There is concern in Israel that Trump might repeat what critics call the “Yemen move.” When attacks began against the Houthis, who had attacked ships in the Gulf of Oman and disrupted maritime traffic between East and West, the U.S. carried out several days of airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

But afterward, Trump announced that the war was over, leaving Israel to deal alone with the Houthis, who continued launching missiles at Israel.

If the war with Iran ends tomorrow or the day after without the collapse of the regime, the army, or the Revolutionary Guards, without handing over 430 kilograms of enriched uranium to the United States or another Western country, and without dismantling the ballistic missile program, not only the launch capability but also the underground stockpiles and production capacity, then it can already be said that the biggest winners will be Iran and Hezbollah, along with the entire so-called “axis of evil.”

From the perspective of the ayatollah regime, simply remaining standing after 10–12 days of attacks would already count as a major victory.

This is similar to how Hamas interpreted its position after Operation Protective Edge. Hamas concluded that it could become not only the “defender of Gaza” but also the “liberator of Jerusalem,” which eventually led to the planning of the attack on Israel that resulted in the October 7 attacks.

If Iran remains standing after the current assault, the region may begin to see it as a powerful and strengthened terrorist power. If Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, succeeds his father as leader of Iran, Israel and the region could face an Iranian regime that is even more extreme.

After all the warnings inside the Israel Defense Forces, the understanding in Israel is that rapid and extensive action is required to push Iran toward internal collapse.

The Israeli Air Force launched waves of strikes in Iran last night, and it is likely that these waves will become more frequent, larger, and more intense in the coming hours and days. The key test now is whether Israel will succeed in persuading the American administration to end the war with Iran’s surrender, or whether the war will end with the ayatollah regime still standing and claiming victory in the campaign—until the next round in a few months.