US-Israeli Divergence over the Timing of Striking Iran

A divergence has emerged between Washington and Tel Aviv over the timing of war on Iran, as a group of senior US military officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, pushes to resume war against Iran, while advisers to President Donald Trump prefer to continue "choking Iran" with economic sanctions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he opposes launching a preemptive strike on Tehran ahead of the Israeli elections, but affirmed that Iran will be "brought down" within the next two years. This coincided with talk of Iran adopting new tactics to target ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and a container ship catching fire and sinking after hitting a mine, in addition to three people being injured when an unidentified drone struck a fishing boat in Hormozgan province in southern Iran.