Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Ma\u2019ayan Toaf \/ GPO)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The U.S. alerts over the weekend warning citizens to evacuate the Middle East and then Trump\u2019s announcement late Saturday that he was canceling the planned strike appeared to catch Israel off guard. It undercut Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s claim last week that he and Trump were in lockstep on Iran. Saudi Arabia confirmed that it had made the appeal to Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,\u201d Trump said on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns. <\/p>\n
\u201cDespite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,\u201d he said. \u201cThis would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran\u2019s nuclear threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia\u2019s official news agency confirmed Sunday that Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who has close business and personal ties with Trump and his family, appealed to the U.S. president to stand down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Crown Prince stressed the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions, preserves the region\u2019s security and stability, and prevents a wider conflict whose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability,\u201d the Saudi Press Agency said.<\/p>\n
Iran disputed Trump\u2019s claim, instead saying that it was ready to respond to any attack on the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Iranian Foreign Ministry vowed that Tehran will use all means at its disposal to exercise its inherent right of self-defense in the face of the United States\u2019 ongoing violations against the Islamic Republic,\u201d the Fars News Agency said.<\/p>\n
Fars, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps \u2013 the principal power in Iran since the war began \u2013 denied any stand-down on Iran\u2019s control of the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n
\u201cIran\u2019s Armed Forces have staged uncompromising retaliation in the face of each instance of violation, including those taking place in support of illegal vessel movement in the waterway,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n
The waterway is critical to the passage of a fifth of the world\u2019s petroleum. Iran has asserted control of the waterway in the wake of the war the United States and Israel launched in February.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s statement came after CBS News reported on Saturday that the United States and Israel were set to attack Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure, which would substantially escalate the war. The State Department put out a security alert advising Americans in the region to leave if they could, and to cancel plans to enter it.<\/p>\n
Regional media reported that Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, conveyed warnings through Turkey and Pakistan to regional U.S. allies that it would hit back hard if the U.S.-Israel attack went through.<\/p>\n
Israel appeared to be caught off guard both by the planned escalation and by Trump\u2019s stand-down. \u201cIsrael is unaware of a decision to restart full military operations, nor has been requested of Israel to join any military actions against Iran,\u201d CBS News quoted an Israeli official as saying \u2013 even as it quoted U.S. officials as saying that Israel was coordinating with the United States. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s government had no comment on Trump\u2019s reported plan to attack the infrastructure, or his stand-down. Flights in and out of Ben Gurion Airport were unaffected. In his Truth Social statement, Trump said, \u201cThe Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has multiple times since the war\u2019s launch threatened to escalate the war only to retreat at the last minute, something the Fars news agency noted in a sardonic tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis narrative seems familiar and repetitive,\u201d it said in a separate report on bin Salman\u2019s appeal. \u201cEvery time Trump has made serious threats against Iranian infrastructure in the past, after Tehran has not backed down, he has claimed that friendly countries have asked him not to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump escalated his rhetoric last week as Iran continued to attack ships attempting to transit Hormuz. \u201cWe\u2019re going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them,\u201d he told Fox News.<\/p>\n
Trump has since the tentative signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran in mid-June asked Israel to stay out of the conflict \u2013 including in the wake of the resumption of fighting on July 13.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu, facing a tough reelection in October, has in recent weeks sought to allay any perceptions in Israel that he had been sidelined by Trump. He met with the president last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump,\u201d he told Israeli reporters after the meeting. \u201cAnd when I say excellent, it\u2019s not lip service \u2013 a conversation with full cooperation, with mutual support, with the understanding of the joint goal to ensure that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, and other goals.\u201d <\/p>\n
The roller-coaster ride appeared to unsettle Netanyahu\u2019s colleagues in his Likud Party. \u201cYou can say \u2018no\u2019 to Trump,\u201d Knesset member Amit Halevi told Kan Reshet Bet, the government-run radio station. \u201cOur commitment is to the security of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PMPOTUSWH28JUly5.jpg\")