Yossi Schwartz (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 26.07.2026
Ahead of the meeting with Pentagon leaders, Trump declared that the U.S. military was “prepared to carry out heavier strikes if ordered to do so,” leaving the door open for a diplomatic solution. “We are alert and ready,” Trump told reporters. “We are ready to act, but we are talking to them, so maybe the turning point will come, or maybe not.”
However, the New York Times revealed that Trump decided to freeze the plan to expand the attack on Iran, following warnings from Pentagon chiefs. He abandoned plans for a “massive attack” against Iran, fearing that the continuation of the war would deplete the stockpile of interceptors for the Patriot system and the Pentagon’s other air defense ammunition in the Middle East, which has already dwindled.
The new decision is also fueled by opposition from key Gulf allies exposed to an Iranian attack, a global economic stranglehold and a growing energy crisis.
The New York Times wrote after a meeting last Friday between President Trump and senior advisers and senior members of the Cabinet, which focused on reducing the stockpile of Patriot interceptors and other air defense systems of the Pentagon, according to sources who discussed operational matters on condition of anonymity. But it would dangerously deplete the interceptors at the disposal of the U.S. military’s Central Command (SANCTOM), which is responsible for operations in the Middle East, the sources said.
White House communications director Stephen Chaung said the president has always been consistent in saying he favors a diplomatic solution, but he continues to keep all options open should Iran continue to carry out terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies. He added that after being subjected to repeated sanctions and attacks, “it would be wise for Iran to work to reach a negotiated agreement, otherwise they know what will happen.”
According to the report, there were also doubts about the feasibility of resuming large-scale combat operations in order to bring Iran back to the negotiating table. “The attacks have the opposite effect of what is wanted,” the source added. “They keep Iran united and allow Iranian leaders to focus attention on an external threat.”
The meeting took place at a time when Trump was facing a possible decisive point in his approach to Iran, following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire and a memorandum of understanding intended to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table for long-term nuclear disarmament.
Several Pentagon officials and U.S. military commanders said earlier this week that Trump appeared inclined to approve an initial phase of a multi-stage bomb system. The campaign was supposed to hit coastal radars, anti-ship missile launchers, a fleet of small Iranian attack boats, and other sites that, according to the Pentagon, contributed to attacks on commercial ships passing through the strait. The Pentagon has poured additional troops, weapons and supplies into the Middle East in recent days to prepare for any escalation.
As early as April, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon had used more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles during the war, at a cost of more than $4 million per unit, leaving inventories at a worryingly low level, according to internal estimates by the Defense Department and congressional officials. The situation has worsened since then, military sources said this week.
Trump’s decision caused deep disappointment in Israel, whose government hoped that following Netanyahu’s visit to the United States and his meeting with Trump, she would be allowed to join the attack on Iran, which would increase Netanyahu’s chances of being re-elected, as the so-called opposition will support the new Zionist attack.