The military conflict between the United States and Iran is intensifying, but Israel is holding back from military action. Both the U.S. and Middle Eastern nations are concerned that Israel's involvement could escalate limited clashes into a full-scale war.
On July 21, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. has requested Israel to refrain from participating in the conflict against Iran for the time being.
While maintaining military pressure, the U.S. aims to extract diplomatic concessions from Iran to avoid a full-scale war, viewing Israel's involvement as an unstable variable.
Arab nations in the Gulf region have also urged the U.S. to prevent Israel from resuming attacks on Iran. They fear that if Israel intervenes, Iran could retaliate strongly against their energy facilities. Mediating countries believe that Israel's involvement could complicate the return of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to negotiations.
Israel currently assesses that there is no immediate need for direct intervention. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated, "The primary goal of this operation is to weaken the Iranian regime's foundation. The current situation is favorable for us, and there is no reason to intervene, but we are prepared for all scenarios."
Iran also appears to be avoiding direct attacks on Israel. Recently, it has targeted U.S. allies in the region, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, while refraining from direct aggression against Israel.
Although the U.S. and Israel closely coordinated at the onset of the conflict against Iran in February, differences have emerged regarding war objectives. President Donald Trump has pushed for diplomatic solutions due to concerns over global economic impacts from disruptions in energy supply, while Israel has expressed dissatisfaction with ending the war before sufficiently weakening the Iranian regime.
However, the possibility of Israel re-engaging remains. The Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen are threatening to blockade the Red Sea, and if the U.S. opts for larger military operations to break the stalemate, Israel's support may become necessary.
Erez Wiener, chairman of the Israeli Security Forum, analyzed that keeping the option of an Israeli attack as a backup could serve as leverage for the U.S. in pressuring Iran regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear negotiations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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