According to a video posted on Fox News from 12:19, on Sunday July 12, 2026, Middle East analyst Daniel Rubenstein warned that if Iran destroys Israeli infrastructure, the regime will face a response that cripples its war economy.
Rubenstein made the comment while addressing reports calling for Iranian strikes on ports in Haifa and the United Arab Emirates.
Rubenstein, speaking from his office in Tel Aviv, said he was looking out at a calm, sunny view of the city as he discussed the possibility of an Iranian strike on civilian infrastructure.
He said Israel and the United States have so far avoided targeting many sites inside Iran, in order to separate the regime from the Iranian population, whom he described as oppressed and deserving of freedom.
He said that restraint could end quickly if Iran chose to damage significant civilian infrastructure in Israel or allied nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
He said such an attack would likely draw a response designed to limit Iran’s ability to keep funding its military campaign.
In his words, Daniel Rubenstein said, “I imagine that the Israeli government would order a response in kind. There are many targets in Iran that the Israeli government has not ordered targeted, that President Trump has not targeted.
However, if the Iranian government is going to make the decision to destroy critical infrastructure in Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and other places, then it may be possible that the Iranian regime will face a similar response in kind so that their economy will not be able to support the war that they continue to advocate for.”
Rubenstein said this warning reflects a strategy built on restraint that depends entirely on Iran’s next move….See More