Analysis by Matthew Chance, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent
Despite stunning early successes in Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Iran, a weekend of intensive bombardment and retaliation is raising questions about Israel’s exit strategy – how it can end this conflict with its ambitious goals achieved.
While Israeli war planes pummel Iranian military and nuclear sites virtually unopposed, dozens of Israelis have been killed and injured in retaliatory Iranian attacks.
Meanwhile, the United States – though helping Israel defend against Iranian missile strikes – is for the moment refusing to take part in attacking Iran, forcing Israel to reassess what its military operations can achieve.
“The end will be diplomatic, not military,” one Israeli source told CNN, adding the Israeli hope is now that its ongoing military action “weakens Iran’s negotiating hand” in any future nuclear talks.
This same theory, that Israeli military action will pressure an adversary to make concessions, has failed to force Hamas in Gaza to cave. Still, the mere mention of Iranian negotiations as a possible outcome suggests a shifting view.
From the start of the unprecedented strikes on Iran last week, Israel made its aims perfectly clear.
The intention, one Israeli military official spelled out to CNN, was to permanently remove the Islamic Republic’s “existential” nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
And no time limit would be set, the official insisted, to fulfil that military objective.
But that ambition, always highly dependent on the United States joining Israel militarily, has now run up against the reality of US reluctance to get drawn into yet another Mideast war.
Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that Israel has spoken with the US about increasing its level of involvement.
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