Yedioth Ahronoth: Israel will accept a ceasefire with Iran if Khamenei agrees
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted Israeli political sources as saying that Israel would accept a ceasefire with Iran if Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed to it.
Israeli officials said Sunday that Israel isn’t seeking to prolong the confrontation with Iran, and that the decision now lies with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
One of the Israeli officials added, “If Khamenei ceases fire tomorrow and expresses a desire to end the incident, we will accept it”.
Regarding the possibility of reaching a new nuclear agreement, Israeli sources have ruled out this option for the time being, noting that “the chances of Iran entering into negotiations now are slim, if not nonexistent”.
Regarding coordination with the United States, the sources confirmed the existence of understandings between the two sides regarding the aftermath of the strikes, but the details remain subject to developments in the Iranian position.
They said, “If Khamenei chooses to respond to a US base, the situation will change radically… If he decides to attack only Israel, each scenario has a different outcome”.
The Israeli sources added, “Washington prefers that Iran move toward negotiations, and we are waiting to see: Will Khamenei respond? Will he negotiate? Or will he surrender? For our part, we don’t want a protracted campaign; rather, we hope to conclude the event this week”.
Although there is no definitive confirmation of the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israeli estimates indicate that the strike “inflicted significant damage to the nuclear program,” and, “the large amount of enriched material was not removed prior to the attack and may have been destroyed by 80-90%”.
The sources said that the attack set back Iran’s nuclear program by “more than ten years,” adding, “We’re waiting for the coming days to get a clearer picture, but we believe the strike was highly successful”.
The sources emphasized that Israel’s strategic goal was not to topple the Iranian regime, but rather to disrupt its nuclear capabilities.
One official said, “Weakening the regime may be a byproduct of the attacks, but that was never a goal”.
According to the Israeli assessment, more than 50% of Iran’s missile launchers have been destroyed, while Tehran still has approximately 200 launchers and 1,500 missiles.
The sources warned of the possibility of Iran resorting to carrying out external attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets, saying, “External threats are always possible, which is why we are raising the level of alert and working to thwart any plot early”.
