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Six Months on, Israel Waiting in the Wings as Trump’s War on Iran Shifts to Economic Pressure

JNS - Tuesday, September 1, 2026 by Charles Bybelezer and Amelie Botbol and |

“Help has arrived,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Feb. 28, speaking after the Israeli and U.S. militaries launched a joint operation, “Roaring Lion/Epic Fury,” against Iran, killing then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo.

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IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, told JNS that Iran is currently prioritizing control of the Strait of Hormuz and that Jerusalem is watching closely, as its ability to assist the United States in this regard is limited.

“We are preparing all our efforts for the future in case we need to bomb Iran to stop or delay its nuclear project. We currently see that it is not yet urgent, and we want to give the Americans the space they need to solve the Hormuz problem,” said Amidror, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America in Washington.

He said that the parliamentary elections in Israel on Oct. 27 are likely to have little impact on military decisions, as nearly all candidates support preventing Iran from acquiring the bomb.

“There may be differences in the level of involvement, but at the end of the day, I think almost everyone agrees on the need for Israel to prevent Iran from reaching nuclear military capability,” said Amidror.

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Read the full piece in JNS.