If the United States resumes military action against Iran following the expiration of the current ceasefire, the world should prepare for a strategic response that bears little resemblance to the bombing campaign already carried out, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev warned in an interview from 2:56 with JNS TV.
“If Trump does go back to military action, expect the unexpected — not just a return to the bombing campaign,” Regev said. “Not more of the same. Expect something different.”
Speaking on Sunday, April 19th, Regev dissected the range of military options he believed President Donald Trump might consider, should diplomatic negotiations with Tehran collapse before Wednesday’s ceasefire deadline. Trump had publicly stated aboard Air Force One that he might not extend the ceasefire and could resume military strikes — language Regev interpreted as deliberate strategic pressure rather than a fixed operational plan.
While acknowledging that further airstrikes remained the most commonly anticipated scenario, Regev argued that Trump’s well-documented appetite for unconventional tactics made a straightforward return to bombing campaigns unlikely to be the full story. Among the possibilities Regev floated was a ground incursion — a dramatic escalation that would represent a qualitative shift in American military engagement with Iran.
His preferred theory, however, was more operationally specific. “My favourite thing is that he’ll take over the island where all the oil facilities are,” Regev said. “And then he can offer to end the blockade — because they will have nothing to send out if he takes over the oil island.”
The strategic logic, in Regev’s analysis, was compelling: rather than relying solely on aerial bombardment, seizing control of Iran’s principal oil infrastructure would deliver an immediate and crushing economic blow while simultaneously handing Trump a potent bargaining chip for any subsequent negotiations.
Regev’s comments came against a backdrop of diplomatic turbulence over the weekend, during which Iranian officials publicly contradicted Trump’s assertion that Tehran had agreed to terms on the nuclear programme. Iranian parliamentary leaders and foreign ministry spokesmen took to social media to deny any agreement — a development that both Regev and his interviewer Ruthie agreed had significantly hardened the prospects for a negotiated settlement. Read_More…