By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli reserve general Yitzhak Brik warned that renewed US airstrikes on Iran could draw Israel into a wider regional war.

Key Takeaways

• Writing in Maariv, Yitzhak Brik warned that another US attack on Iran would likely draw in Israel and could escalate into a full-scale regional war.
• Brik argued that airstrikes alone could neither bring down Iran’s government nor stop its nuclear program, and warned that Trump’s desire for revenge could drive him toward escalation.
• He outlined two alternatives: a ground invasion that would inflict heavy US losses, or a prolonged international blockade that he said had a lower chance of success.

Brik Warns Israel Could Be Drawn into Wider War

Israeli reserve Major General Yitzhak Brik warned in an opinion article for Maariv that another US air offensive against Iran could put Israel at the center of a wider regional war.

Brik said Israel was highly likely to participate in any renewed attack and warned that the damage it would suffer in a regional war could be enormous and, in some cases, irreversible. He urged officials in Washington to dissuade US President Donald Trump from escalating the conflict.

“The Iranian nuclear problem will never be solved by repeated airstrikes,” Brik wrote. He argued that previous attacks had caused temporary damage while strengthening Iran’s resolve, and that air power alone could neither overthrow the Iranian government nor stop its nuclear program.

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Trump’s ‘Wounded Ego’ Could Drive Escalation

Brik framed the prospect of renewed attacks as a failure of Trump’s promises to bring global peace and economic prosperity. He described the Republican losses in the US midterm elections as an expression of public anger at those unfulfilled promises.

He portrayed the White House as divided over whether to expand strikes on Iran, maintain the economic blockade or pursue an agreement to end the fighting.

Beyond those divisions, Brik pointed to what he called Trump’s “wounded ego.” He argued that Trump felt humiliated by Iran and warned that a desire for revenge could drive him to order an attack for personal reasons.

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Ground Invasion or Prolonged Blockade

Brik outlined two options he believed Washington had if it wanted to neutralize Iran’s nuclear facilities or force Tehran to yield. 

The first was a large-scale ground invasion, backed by aircraft and intelligence capabilities, to disable nuclear facilities directly. He said this would amount to all-out war and inflict heavy losses on US forces.

The second was a prolonged campaign of sanctions and blockade, with Western governments working together to cut off Iran’s exports of oil, gas and other goods and restrict what it could bring in overland. Brik said that approach had a lower chance of success and would require sustained international cooperation.

He called a strategy based solely on air power and retaliation “a dangerous illusion for which the entire country will pay.”

(PC, Maariv)