- US President Trump said military attacks on Iran could end within two to three weeks
- Trump stated Iran does not need to make a deal for US to conclude Operation Epic Fury
- Israeli PM Netanyahu vowed to continue military campaign against Iran's terror regime
The United States and Israel do not seem to be on the same page about their plans regarding the future of war in Iran. While US President Donald Trump has said Washington could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, even without a deal from Tehran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would press ahead with its military campaign, declaring that it would continue to "crush Iran's terror regime".
Both US and Israeli leaders' remarks came after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war, provided its enemies guaranteed it would not flare up again.
What Trump Said
Trump had said the United States could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks and that Tehran did not have to make a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down.
"We'll be leaving very soon," he said at the White House on Tuesday, adding the exit could take place "within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three".
Asked if successful diplomacy with Iran was a prerequisite for the US to conclude what it has dubbed "Operation Epic Fury", Trump said it was not. "Iran doesn't have to make a deal, no," he said. "No, they don't have to make a deal with me."
Trump has zigzagged previously on whether Washington plans to escalate the war that has roiled the world economy -- possibly by deploying American ground forces -- or try to end it through negotiations with Tehran. He has previously threatened to intensify military operations if Tehran did not accept a 15-point US ceasefire framework that had among its core demands that Iran commit not to pursue nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
But on Tuesday, he said the responsibility for keeping the critical waterway open should belong with the countries that rely on it, rather than the US. He said there's "no reason for us to do this".
The US leader's U-turn followed his days of frustration with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort. Earlier in the day, Trump told the United Kingdom and other European allies to "go get your own oil".
Israel's War Plans
But contrary to Trump's plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would press ahead with its military campaign against Tehran and would continue to "crush Iran's terror regime".
"The campaign is not over," he said in a televised statement delivered on the eve of the Jewish Passover holidays. "We will continue to crush the terror regime."
"We had to act, and we acted... We have remained steadfast in our mission, and we have changed the face of the Middle East," he added, asserting that despite the ongoing war, Israel had emerged as a "regional power".
The War
Netanyahu and Trump launched the war in the Middle East on February 28, killing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and setting off a wave of retaliatory attacks across the region.
But since the beginning of the war, several reports have suggested that the Israeli prime minister was responsible for convincing Trump to attack Iran. Last week, US Vice President JD Vance also reportedly rebuked Netanyahu in a tense phone call. Axios reported that "Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements", referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
