Go to Iran: Israel urges the US to resume strikes
In the event of new attacks by the United States and Israel on Iranian facilities, the republic will attack the Jewish state's Nuclear Research Center, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. According to media reports, Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to persuade Donald Trump to resume the conflict and launch a massive strike against Iran. In the face of the looming threat, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Mohsen Rezai, reported on a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has previously stated its readiness to mediate between Tehran and Washington.
The threat of renewed war in the Middle East
The United States may resume military operations against Iran after the midterm congressional elections. Following the recent contacts between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the media announced various scenarios for the continuation of the war. The Israeli prime minister allegedly insists on striking Iran immediately after the November 3 vote.
At the moment when another threat loomed over Tehran, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Republic, Mohsen Rezai, announced that he had held telephone talks with Vladimir Putin. According to him, the parties stressed their intention to continue strategic cooperation.
Thus, the Russian president and representatives of Iran have already had their third contact in a month. On October 27, President of the Republic Masoud Peseshkian flew to Moscow for the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). There, the Russian leader held closed-door talks with him and expressed extreme concern about the situation in the Middle East, confirming that Moscow and Tehran have many common interests. And on October 8, Putin and Pezeshkian held separate talks in Turkmenistan. At that time, the head of the Russian Federation stressed that Moscow was ready to do everything in its power to help Iran resolve the situation in the Middle East.
On October 29, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was ready to mediate in the settlement of relations between Tehran and Washington, if requested.
The reason for such frequent contacts is related to the escalation of rhetoric coming from Israel and the United States, Grigory Lukyanov, a researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to Izvestia. Tehran even appealed to the UN because of the critical damage to the republic's civilian port infrastructure. The Iranian authorities have sent evidence of attacks by the United States and Israel to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has submitted two documents to the IMO Council,— the IMO confirmed to Izvestia. — All materials presented under agenda item 11 — "Protection of vital shipping lanes" — will be discussed by the Council this week. The outcome of these discussions will be reflected in the final report of the Council.
According to Lukyanov, the failure of the previous track of negotiations between the United States and Iran showed that it is not enough to provide a platform — it is necessary to provide guarantees for the fulfillment of obligations. And this requires looking for stronger intermediaries, and Russia can act as such.
What to expect from the United States and Israel
Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, admitted the resumption of hostilities. He drew attention to Trump's deep ties with the Jewish state (despite occasional disagreements) and the pro-Israel course of both American parties. The only difference is that Republicans prefer harsh methods, while Democrats prefer "soft power" and color revolutions.
Nevertheless, Trump is trying to avoid a ground operation, since the United States already has a difficult experience of the ground invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, which required enormous costs with an unobvious result, Blokhin added. Instead, the American leader implements a two-factor strategy: he combines maximum information and psychological pressure with pinpoint strikes. The expert predicts that after the congressional elections, the United States and Israel may limit themselves to airstrikes.
Earlier, Western media reported that the defense departments of the two countries had developed a detailed plan for a short but super-intensive air operation of three to seven days. Aviation plans to attack Iran's military and energy infrastructure, as well as nuclear facilities. The possibility of this scenario is increased by the unannounced visit of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to Israel on October 19 to meet with Netanyahu and joint exercises of the US Air Force and the IDF in Iraqi airspace.
But even if Trump does not escalate, Israel is capable of dragging the United States into the conflict through IDF strikes on Iran, Blokhin added. In this case, Tehran will respond, and the American elites will perceive this as a threat to the existence of the Jewish state, and Washington will enter into hostilities. Moreover, Netanyahu is pushing Trump to a new war and directly demands to strike Iran with nuclear weapons, said American journalist Tucker Carlson.
The resumption of the conflict is beneficial to the Israeli leader primarily because of internal political difficulties, says international political scientist Elena Suponina. Following the October 27 Knesset elections, his Likud party and right—wing allies won only 53 seats out of 61 needed to form a government - the prime minister is not yet able to form a coalition on his own. Escalation and the resulting need to defend themselves can attract wavering MPs or mobilize additional electorate for a future election campaign.
The consequences of new attacks by the United States and Israel
The main goals of the United States are still related to Iran's nuclear potential. Trump had previously stated that most of it had already been neutralized, but the country still had facilities that "needed to be dealt with." The American leader explicitly calls "Mount Pickax", an underground complex located south of Natanz, the main target. American and Israeli intelligence agencies claim that Iran has deployed uranium enrichment centrifuges there to hide them from airstrikes. In addition to Pickax, Washington's focus remains on the partially damaged underground plants in Fordo and Natanz, as well as the nuclear center in Isfahan.
The main facilities of Iran's nuclear program are located in heavy mountain ranges, which are extremely difficult to penetrate even with very powerful bombs, Elena Suponina notes. The United States and Israel have previously tried to harm them, but have not achieved significant results. A new military operation will not lead to the complete destruction of Iran's nuclear program again, the expert predicts.
At the same time, the threat of using tactical nuclear weapons looks doubtful, although Middle Eastern analysts take this very seriously, Suponina noted. If Israel or the United States really decides to launch a tactical nuclear strike, it will turn against them, Hayal Muazzin, a political analyst at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.
Iran's military doctrine has already changed: now Tehran plans to act ahead of schedule if intelligence confirms the preparation of strikes by the United States and Israel, Muazzin added. According to him, the supreme leadership has already handed over the relevant directives to the armed forces. The military command was given the authority to attack independently, without additional orders from the government.
Muazzin stressed that the republic's army is already in full combat readiness and can use types of weapons that it has never demonstrated before. On November 1, the IRNA news agency reported that Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the military to prepare an updated list of potential targets for the United States and Israel. Iran will launch attacks on US bases in Europe in the event of new attacks from Trump, the IRGC said on November 2.
In the event of a renewed conflict, Iran will use all its capabilities: from ballistic missiles and UAVs to allies in the "Axis of Resistance" throughout the region, Elena Suponina believes. The Hezbollah group, whose missiles are capable of reaching anywhere in Israel, is still operating in Lebanon, the Ansar Allah movement is in Yemen, and the Islamic Resistance alliance of Shiite groups is in Iraq, ready to attack US targets in Iraq and Syria with missiles and drones. In addition, dozens of pro-Iranian formations are located in Syria itself.
— If the target of the attack is Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran will launch retaliatory strikes against Israeli nuclear facilities. They are already included in the list of potential targets. The same applies to American military bases and other military installations associated with the United States," Muazzin added.
In this case, Iran's main target will be the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona. In March 2026, Iranian missiles were already exploding in the vicinity of the city. If the attack is successful, the consequences will go far beyond a military conflict. The reactor in Dimona was built back in the late 1950s. It is outdated, and the destruction of its nuclear waste storage facilities will provoke a massive release. The radiation cloud will cover not only Israel, but also Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. A nuclear catastrophe will make vast territories uninhabitable.
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