[By Observer.com Chen Sijia] The United States recently launched an air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, increasing the risk of further escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel. According to a report by the U.S. Wall Street Journal on June 23, several Israeli and Arab officials revealed that Israel hopes to use the U.S. air strikes to pressure Iran and end the Israel-Iran conflict as soon as possible.

Arab officials said that the United States has informed Arab countries that Israel is seeking to end the conflict as soon as possible and asked Arab countries to convey this message to Iran. These officials revealed that Iran responded to the signals sent by Israel, saying that they are not yet prepared to retreat because they believe it is necessary to respond to the U.S. air strike on nuclear facilities.

Israeli officials told the Wall Street Journal that they expect the Israeli military to complete its list of military targets in Iran within the next few days, which would create an opportunity to end the conflict. However, how the situation will develop largely depends on Iran's response. Israeli officials said they hope Iran will sit at the negotiating table and agree to end the uranium enrichment program.

These Israeli officials claimed that if Israel discovers Iran trying to resume uranium enrichment, Israel is prepared to deploy its air force to strike Iran. One official also stated that if Iran continues to attack Israel, Israel will continue to fight, "They attack, we will attack."

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said late on the evening of June 22 that Israel was "very close" to achieving its goals. He did not list a specific timetable, but he claimed that Israel "would not be dragged into a war of attrition." Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich also claimed that the Israeli military was "very close" to achieving three main objectives: targeting Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missiles, and "regional proxies."

Meanwhile, CNN also reported similar news. A source said that the Israeli military may complete most of its military operation objectives in Iran "in a few days," and Israel plans "first to try to complete its objectives, then take action to promote negotiations."

The Fordow nuclear facility after the air strike, satellite image from Macsa Technology Company, USA

On June 13 local time, Israel launched a large-scale air strike on Iran, resulting in the deaths of several senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. Afterward, both sides launched multiple rounds of attacks. During this period, Iran repeatedly stated that Iran had no interest in prolonging the conflict, but if Israel did not stop attacking, Iran would not stop retaliating either.

Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi issued a statement on June 20, stating that the attack on Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities was considered a major crime, seriously violating international law. He said that if Israel stopped its aggression and took responsibility for its crimes, Iran was willing to consider diplomatic approaches.

However, on June 22 local time, the United States launched an attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, which was the largest military operation against Iran by the West since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

After the air strike, Araghchi responded that Iran would consider all possible response options and would not return to the negotiation table before taking retaliatory actions, "The United States has shown that they do not respect international law. They only understand the language of threats and force."

Majid Taheri-Ravancheh, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran for Political Affairs, said in an interview with German television on June 23 that Iran would continue uranium enrichment activities. He emphasized, "Iran is a faithful member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and conducts uranium enrichment for the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the framework of this treaty. No one can tell us what we should or should not do."

Taheri-Ravancheh said that as a victim of aggression, Iran has the right to self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter. He also said in the interview that Iran had no intention of contacting the United States or Israel. He said, "When Israel attacks us with the help of the United States, continuing dialogue makes no sense. We don't negotiate just for the sake of negotiation."

Currently, Israel continues to attack targets inside Iran. On June 23, several Iranian media outlets cited a spokesperson from Qom province, stating that the Fordow nuclear facility was attacked again. Iranian Tasnim News Agency attributed the attack to Israel. Subsequently, The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli military confirmed that it had struck the access roads to the Fordow nuclear facility earlier on June 23.

On June 23, Israeli Army Spokesman Efi Deverlin also announced that Israel continued to bomb Tehran, the capital of Iran, with Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropping more than 100 munitions at targets in Tehran within two hours. The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli military struck multiple command centers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Israel estimated that several members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed.

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