Iran International
A cluster of former officials and pundits in Tehran has sought to downplay the likelihood of a US-backed Israeli strike on Iran, arguing that Washington has little appetite for such military action.
The claims have circulated amid growing public anxiety about escalation—concerns that have begun to ripple through Iran’s currency and gold markets.
“Trump is no longer interested in playing Netanyahu’s game,” Nameh News, a conservative outlet widely seen as close to Iran’s intelligence community, quoted Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the former head of parliament’s national security committee, as saying.
Falahatpisheh offered little evidence for the assertion, suggesting only that “all of Trump’s attention is currently focused on the Western hemisphere.”
Those assurances stand in contrast to remarks on Wednesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israel still needed to “settle accounts” with Iran, adding that while Israel did not seek confrontation, it remained alert to “every possible danger.”
Meeting in Mar-a-Lago
Netanyahu is set to meet Donald Trump next week, primarily to discuss the next phase of the Gaza conflict but also Iran’s nuclear standoff.
Nameh News introduced the interview by citing the upcoming meeting, asserting that it would have no impact on Tehran’s determination to pursue its nuclear and missile programs.
Falahatpisheh further argued that the Trump–Netanyahu meeting was intended mainly to shield Israel from broader US national security priorities, claiming Washington was no longer willing to spend resources on military operations outside the Western hemisphere.
As support, he cited US national security documents, noting that Iran was mentioned 17 times in 2024 but only three times in 2025.
‘US not interested’
The same day, the outlet quoted foreign policy analyst Ali Bigdeli, who echoed Falahatpisheh’s assessment almost verbatim.
“I do not assume that the United States is likely to enter an action against Iran to assist Israel,” Bigdeli said, while maintaining that the Trump–Netanyahu meeting would indeed focus on Iran. He warned of the possibility of a “surprise military attack” but concluded that a broader conflict between Israel and Iran remained unlikely.
A similar argument appeared in the reformist daily Arman Melli, which published an interview that day with political commentator Hassan Hanizadeh.
Hanizadeh said the United States was “not interested in taking part in a new war against Iran” and accused Netanyahu and Israeli media of amplifying regional instability for domestic political reasons.
Taken together, the remarks suggest a coordinated effort to reassure domestic audiences that war is unlikely, even as official rhetoric remains confrontational. Whether such messaging can ease public anxiety—and calm markets in Iran—remains an open question.
