NYT: Israel Faces A Strategic Dilemma In Iran
- 21.06.2025, 10:05
There are two options.
U.S. President Donald Trump's postponement of a decision on whether to launch an American attack on Iran has put Israel in a strategic predicament. This is reported by The New York Times.
It is noted that Israel's main remaining objective is to destroy the Fordow uranium enrichment facility in northern Iran, which is buried so deep underground that it would be difficult for Israeli bombs to damage it.
For days, Israeli officials had hoped Trump would send U.S. warplanes armed with the world's only munitions deemed powerful enough to destroy Fordow. Now the U.S. leader says he will wait up to two weeks before deciding whether to carry out such an intervention - a delay that puts Israel in a dilemma.
"The longer Israel waits for Trump, the greater the strain on its air defense system. To prevent Iran's barrage of ballistic missile strikes, Israel is burning through its stockpile of missile interceptors, forcing it to prioritize defending some areas over others. Over time, this increases the risk that more missiles will hit both civilian neighborhoods and strategic security sites," the article said.
The publication said that by closing Israel's airspace and halting much of its economic life, prolonging the war will also have economic costs. The sooner the war ends, the sooner commercial flights can be restored and businesses can resume full operations.
The journalists suggest that rather than wait for American aid, Israel may decide to attack Fordow alone - taking its chances with the planes and ammunition at its disposal.
Some analysts say Israel could even send commandos to go in and sabotage the facility. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has hinted at going it alone. He said Israel would "achieve all our goals, all the nuclear facilities, we have the strength to do it."
Experts say the path is fraught with risk and that its effect could be limited. Itamar Rabinowitz, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, said:
"It probably won't be on the scale of what the U.S. can achieve. If we could do what the U.S. can do, we would have done it by now."
Other option is for Israel to unilaterally end the war, without attacking Fordo. But such an approach would leave at least a significant portion of Iran's uranium enrichment program intact, leaving open the possibility that it could build a nuclear bomb that could be used against Israel.
"At the moment, Israel does not seem to be going down that path. Israel's political leadership has begun to talk openly about inciting the collapse of the Iranian regime and the assassination of its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even if Israel has no real way to topple its government, the tone of the comments suggests that Israel at least intends to continue its strikes for a few days," the piece said.