Published Jul 27, 2026, 9:37 AM EDT
Israel stays out of renewed Iran strikes as U.S. forces bear the military costs and casualties of the expanding war.
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Published Jul 27, 2026, 9:37 AM EDT
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said plainly what other Israeli leaders have communicated more cautiously: The current U.S.-Iran war benefits Israel most when American forces do the fighting and Israel remains outside the direct exchange. “When it comes to the state of Israel, there is no interest in joining the campaign,” Smotrich said at a settlement conference Tuesday. “The current situation, where there is a confined campaign between Iran and the United States, is the correct [situation] and best for us.” His remarks provide an unusually candid explanation for Israel’s absence from the latest American campaign. The United States is attacking Israel’s principal regional enemy, absorbing the financial and military costs and confronting Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. Israel, meanwhile, preserves its aircraft and weapons, avoids renewed Iranian missile attacks and retains the option to intervene later.
