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As Trump pauses Iran strikes, Israel said to believe he'll soon be forced to escalate

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HEADLINE: As Trump pauses Iran strikes Israel said to believe hell soon be forced to escalate (Times of Israel, July 26, 2026)

After the United States refrained from striking Iran overnight Friday-Saturday for the first day in two weeks, Hebrew media reported Saturday that Jerusalem had been prepared for a major escalation in the war over the weekend, which never came. Despite the pause, Israeli leaders still estimate that US President Donald Trump would soon be compelled to step up military action, the reports said. Trump personally ordered the US military not to strike Iran on Friday and Saturday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the directive. A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that 'the chances of reaching an agreement between the United States and Iran are virtually nonexistent,' calling an eventual escalation in the conflict 'inevitable.' The move has contributed in recent days to one of the war's sharpest rises in global oil prices, with Brent crude spiking above $100 a barrel for the first time since May.