Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz canceled their participation in a military ceremony Wednesday and were set to hold a security discussion as Israel is closely monitoring the renewed confrontation between the United States and Iran.

The move came after a night of strikes in the Persian Gulf and sharper rhetoric from President Donald Trump, who said he views the ceasefire with Iran as effectively over. The security discussion had been scheduled to focus on Israel’s memorandum of understanding with Lebanon, with U.S. involvement, and was also expected to address Iran.

President Isaac Herzog and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir were expected to attend the National Security College graduation ceremony.

In Jerusalem, officials said Israel is on high alert and preparing for the possibility that fighting could quickly resume. Still, the prevailing assessment is that the current U.S.-Iran clash will not escalate into a full-scale war for now, at least not before the U.S. midterm elections.

Israeli officials have long assessed that Washington would struggle to reach a permanent agreement with Tehran and that the American strategy would be to buy time until the midterms, while keeping oil prices low and avoiding disruption to the World Cup.

A senior Israeli official said anyone who claimed Trump had turned his back on Israel and lost the war “was premature,” adding that Trump is now driven mainly by economic pressure on Iran. The official said Iran’s economic pressure intensified greatly during Operation Lion’s Roar and that Israel believes the Iranian economy must continue eroding.

The official added that Israel did not like the U.S. fuel exemption but does not view it as dramatic. On the possibility of renewed fighting, the official said a return to war could serve Israel’s goals but is not the only option.

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