Senior Israeli officials are sharply criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to call off a planned large-scale attack on Iran, warning that the last-minute reversal is disrupting military planning and eroding operational readiness.

A security official told Kan 11 that this was the second time in a week that the United States informed Israel of a planned strike that could shake the Middle East, only for it to be canceled at the last moment without explanation. Thousands of IDF and defense officials had spent weeks preparing for a possible regional escalation over the weekend.

An Israeli official told Kan News that it is difficult to seriously prepare and plan ahead under such circumstances. Senior political officials described the past 24 hours as “walking in the dark,” saying even Israel’s top leadership learned of Trump’s decision through his social media post.

According to Channel 12, Israeli officials initially conducted urgent checks to determine whether Trump’s announcement was a deception maneuver or a genuine retreat from the planned operation. About an hour later, the political and military channels concluded that Israel could lower its alert level.

“This is not hocus-pocus,” senior Israeli officials said. “Once alertness and readiness are lowered, it takes time to organize again. It is frustrating to devote all the resources to one arena and then discover that it was a false alarm. We do not understand what the president’s endgame is.”

Despite the lowered alert level, Israeli officials believe Trump could reverse course again in the near future. Jerusalem assesses that Iran has not suddenly become more moderate and that threats between Washington and Tehran are likely to continue in the coming weeks.

A senior IDF officer told Channel 13 that Israel must remain focused on Iran’s nuclear program rather than the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli defense officials are also concerned that Iran has concluded Trump is highly reluctant to resume fighting and that Arab states currently have greater influence over the president than Israel does.

An Iranian diplomat told The Wall Street Journal that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is considering preemptive attacks if diplomatic talks with the United States fail. Sources familiar with the matter said Israel understands that Trump prefers reaching an agreement over returning to a large-scale war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)