Senior Israeli political figure Aryeh Deri compared the war with Iran to a pot of cholent, saying its outcome could not be fully predicted, as he defended the government’s handling of the conflict and the decision to accept a ceasefire.

In a conversation with Israeli journalist Amit Segal, Deri was asked whether he felt let down by the ceasefire that brought a temporary halt to hostilities. He responded that, given the circumstances, the pause in fighting was justified.

“No. I thought that given where we’d arrived, a replacement regime hadn’t emerged in Iran, and on the other hand, there was very great destruction – on the contrary, maybe the nuclear material will be brought up in negotiations. I tell you again with full responsibility – Netanyahu did not say to Trump and to the American administration anything that, God forbid, we didn’t believe to be true.”

Pressed on whether Israel may have misjudged the likelihood of regime change in Iran and in turn misled the United States, Deri firmly rejected the premise.

“No, no, no…War is like a cholent – you know what you put in, you don’t know what you get.”

He elaborated that Israel had presented a strategic framework to its American counterparts based on the intelligence and projections available at the time, but acknowledged that outcomes in war cannot be guaranteed.

“Yes, we presented to them a plan for how, based on the data we had, if all these things came to pass… The goal was to create conditions for the regime’s fall, and I think we created those conditions. That’s actually why I think the ceasefire is a blessing – there’s a greater chance the regime will fall from within. Iran begged for a ceasefire. They’re presenting it – together with our own opposition – as an Iranian victory. To my great sorrow, that’s very nice cooperation between the two of them. But you can see that in the end they stopped the fire for two weeks with no commitments at all, and now even Lebanon, which was one of their conditions, that’s not happening either.”

During the course of the conflict, reports surfaced suggesting frustration within certain Israeli circles over intelligence assessments—particularly from the Mossad—that the war could lead to regime change in Iran, a development that has yet to materialize.

When asked directly about those reports and whether plans to topple the Iranian regime had failed to come to fruition, Deri acknowledged that while military operations had exceeded expectations, other aspects were still ongoing.

“The military achieved above and beyond. The Mossad, which was more responsible for the regime-change plan, has not yet reached. I say ‘yet’ because in my assessment it will be reached very soon.”

Looking ahead, Deri expressed confidence that internal pressures within Iran could still bring about significant political change in the near future.

“I believe so. By the way, Trump believes the current regime is far more measured and responsible than what came before. In a certain sense, I agree. The diplomatic figures there effectively forced the ceasefire because of the constraints, not because of any genuine change of heart. They understood that within two weeks Iran would go bankrupt.”

{Matzav.com}