Israel seeks war extension as Trump deadline for Iran deal tightens, report says

Israel has pushed behind the scenes for an extension of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, according to a Politico report published just hours before a critical Tuesday deadline set by President Donald Trump rapidly approaches.

Israel is seeking to persuade American officials that the military campaign against Tehran is not yet over, and that this is the moment to escalate it rather than wind it down, the news website reported.

The report came just hours after US Vice President JD Vance told an audience in Europe that the war with Iran would end "very shortly," declaring that Washington had largely achieved its military goals.

"First of all, the United States has largely accomplished its military objectives," Vance told reporters in Budapest.

He acknowledged that some work remained on Iran's weapons manufacturing capacity but said core objectives have been met.

Call for escalation

However, two former senior Israeli officials with close ties to the military told Politico that Tel Aviv believes a ceasefire is premature, and the war requires at least another month.

The additional time would allow Israel to advance its goal of destabilising the Iranian government in the hope that it would collapse.

"One or two more months" would help to achieve that goal, one official said.

"Nobody can say for sure, but what we see today is that they are already on the verge of collapse."

Trump publicly and repeatedly claimed that regime change has already occurred, saying as recently as Monday that "we have regime change" in Iran.

"We got regime change. We do. We deal with a much different regime than before... They're smarter, I think they're sharper and far less radical," he said.