Former Israeli commander warns against war of attrition with Iran
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Israeli Reserve General Israel Ziv says "Israel" can no longer stop Iran’s nuclear program alone and warns of a costly war without US involvement.
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Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Israeli Reserve Major General Israel Ziv, former head of the Israeli occupation military’s Operations Division, warned on Wednesday that "Israel" has nearly exhausted its capacity to carry out direct strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities without US involvement.
He stressed that dismantling Iran’s nuclear program completely would require deeper, more effective measures that go beyond current military capabilities.
Writing for the Israeli Channel 12 website, Ziv cautioned that "Israel’s" current efforts, even if they achieve 60%, fall short of Iran’s determination to obtain a nuclear weapon at any cost. He added that if the situation remains unchanged, Tehran could produce a nuclear bomb in under a year.
Ziv outlined two strategic options available to both "Israel" and the United States. The first involves US diplomatic intervention to forge a stricter nuclear agreement, one that not only halts Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also addresses what he described as Tehran’s network of regional "arms."
The second option, he warned, is a slow descent into a war of attrition that would carry severe consequences. "This descent cannot be compared to the limited threats posed by Yemeni forces," he said, pointing to Iran’s more advanced and accurate capabilities.
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According to Ziv, such a scenario could inflict long-term economic harm on “Israel” and compromise its internal security.
Ziv emphasized that Iran's growing precision and boldness in recent operations pose a significantly elevated threat compared to traditional military adversaries. Prolonged attrition, he warned, would expose the Israeli occupation to sustained economic and strategic damage far beyond the scope of previous regional conflicts.
Israeli missile defense at risk of collapse in coming days: WashPo
On a related note, The Washington Post wrote that a long war of attrition between "Israel" and Iran may not be sustainable for Tel Aviv, highlighting mounting costs and dwindling interceptor supplies as critical vulnerabilities in "Israel’s" air defense network.
The report, published Monday, cites assessments from US and Israeli intelligence officials indicating that without urgent resupply or direct US military intervention, "Israel" may only be able to sustain its current level of missile defense for another 10 to 12 days.
“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” one source briefed on the matter said. "The system is already overwhelmed."
The Post’s analysis aligns with recent warnings by military-focused open-source intelligence (OSINT) account @METT_Project, which projected that Iran’s sustained ballistic missile salvos could begin heavily breaching "Israel’s" multi-layered missile shield around day 18 of the war. That projection, based on interceptor usage rates and known inventories, suggested that daily missile penetrations would increase significantly as the Israeli grid begins to ration munitions and prioritize critical zones.
