Israel to strike Iran alone if necessary, officials told US - JPost

Israeli defense officials have told their US counterparts in recent weeks that Iran’s ballistic missile program poses an existential threat to Israel and that the country is prepared to act unilaterally if necessary, Jerusalem Post cited security sources as saying.

“We told the Americans we will strike alone if Iran crosses the red line we set on ballistic missiles,” one source said, adding that Israel believes Iran has not yet reached that threshold but that Israeli officials are closely tracking developments inside Iran.

The sources said Israel has conveyed plans to dismantle Iran’s missile capabilities and parts of its production infrastructure through a series of high-level exchanges with US officials.

One defense official said the current moment offered a “historic opportunity” to inflict a major setback on Iran’s missile infrastructure and blunt threats to Israel and neighboring countries.

Several officials said they were concerned US President Donald Trump could opt for a limited strike approach — akin to recent US operations against the Houthis in Yemen — that they fear would leave Iran’s most critical capabilities intact.

“The worry is he might hit a handful of targets, declare victory, and leave Israel to deal with the consequences, like with the Houthis,” a military official said, adding that partial action would not remove the underlying threat.