Israel and US Plot to Reshape Middle East as 'Compensation Package' Offered to Stop Strikes on key Iranian Targets
Following the first anniversary of Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel the death and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon is continuing to escalate with Israel in talks with the US about which targets to strike in Iran as both Washington and the Jewish state see a window of opportunity to reshape the Middle East by degrading Hezbollah's military capabilities, analysts suggest.
As Israel marked the anniversary on Monday, Hamas shot rockets at Tel Aviv, Hezbollah fired missiles at Haifa and Israel carried out some of its most intensive bombing campaigns on southern Lebanon and Beirut since it started its ground operation last week and its aerial campaign weeks ago, with both resistance groups defiantly stating that Israel's military blitz would not deter them.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile attack on 1 October when 180 missiles were launched with 20 of them failing to be intercepted and some hitting Israeli military bases.
Iran's missile barrage was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in the region and the Jewish state's continuous aerial bombardment of Lebanon.
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Lebanon that Israel would turn it into another Gaza but the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are at loggerheads over the scale and extent of the attack on Iran, with the latter less hawkish than the premier.
The Israeli premier banned Gallant from travelling to the US to discuss the planned attack before the Israeli cabinet had approved targets and the scale of the attack.
The US has put pressure on Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities but the targets Israel is looking at hitting include significant economic systems such as oil or gas facilities, the presidential compound, the spiritual leader's compound and the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran, according to Israeli media reports.
Related reading: Israel Targets Presumed new Hezbollah Leader in Beirut Strikes as Iran's Leader Issues Warnings in Rare Speech
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin warned his Israeli counterpart, Gallant, that any such attack supported by the US would be seen as a declaration of war by the US on Iran so permission would be required from Congress before this could be approved.
Michael Korilla, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), spent a few days in Israel this week discussing the situation in Lebanon, an attack on Iran and the US's position.
According to Israel's Kan 11 media outlet the US reportedly proposed a "compensation package" for Israel if it refrained from striking specific targets in Iran.
US officials presented the compensation deal during ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding Israel's response to the missile attack, Quds News reported. The proposed package was said to include comprehensive diplomatic protection and a weapons deal.
Related reading: Israel Gaza War: 'Britain Can't Shirk its Responsibility any Longer and Must Lead International Community to Stop Bloodshed'
Any Israeli attack on Iran is expected to have major consequences for Israel and the region with Tehran vowing it would respond in turn far more harshly than its earlier retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned Israel "not to test" Tehran's resolve. Araghchi, was scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at preventing further escalation in the region's wars, the New York Times reported.
Iran has also warned the Gulf States that any cooperation with Israel will make them complicit and they will bear the consequences.
When Israel began its military assault on Lebanon it said it was conducting "limited military operations", a move that the US said it supported, while simultaneously calling for a ceasefire.
However, both Washington and Tel Aviv appear to have evolved into wanting to reshape the M
As Israel marked the anniversary on Monday, Hamas shot rockets at Tel Aviv, Hezbollah fired missiles at Haifa and Israel carried out some of its most intensive bombing campaigns on southern Lebanon and Beirut since it started its ground operation last week and its aerial campaign weeks ago, with both resistance groups defiantly stating that Israel's military blitz would not deter them.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile attack on 1 October when 180 missiles were launched with 20 of them failing to be intercepted and some hitting Israeli military bases.
Iran's missile barrage was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in the region and the Jewish state's continuous aerial bombardment of Lebanon.
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Lebanon that Israel would turn it into another Gaza but the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are at loggerheads over the scale and extent of the attack on Iran, with the latter less hawkish than the premier.
The Israeli premier banned Gallant from travelling to the US to discuss the planned attack before the Israeli cabinet had approved targets and the scale of the attack.
The US has put pressure on Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities but the targets Israel is looking at hitting include significant economic systems such as oil or gas facilities, the presidential compound, the spiritual leader's compound and the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran, according to Israeli media reports.
Related reading: Israel Targets Presumed new Hezbollah Leader in Beirut Strikes as Iran's Leader Issues Warnings in Rare Speech
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin warned his Israeli counterpart, Gallant, that any such attack supported by the US would be seen as a declaration of war by the US on Iran so permission would be required from Congress before this could be approved.
Michael Korilla, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), spent a few days in Israel this week discussing the situation in Lebanon, an attack on Iran and the US's position.
According to Israel's Kan 11 media outlet the US reportedly proposed a "compensation package" for Israel if it refrained from striking specific targets in Iran.
US officials presented the compensation deal during ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding Israel's response to the missile attack, Quds News reported. The proposed package was said to include comprehensive diplomatic protection and a weapons deal.
Related reading: Israel Gaza War: 'Britain Can't Shirk its Responsibility any Longer and Must Lead International Community to Stop Bloodshed'
Any Israeli attack on Iran is expected to have major consequences for Israel and the region with Tehran vowing it would respond in turn far more harshly than its earlier retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned Israel "not to test" Tehran's resolve. Araghchi, was scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at preventing further escalation in the region's wars, the New York Times reported.
Iran has also warned the Gulf States that any cooperation with Israel will make them complicit and they will bear the consequences.
When Israel began its military assault on Lebanon it said it was conducting "limited military operations", a move that the US said it supported, while simultaneously calling for a ceasefire.
However, both Washington and Tel Aviv appear to have evolved into wanting to reshape the M
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