So here's the situation in the Middle East: Israel's military said on Sunday that it expects to keep hitting Iran for at least another three weeks. That means this campaign, which started with U.S. support, is likely to stretch well into March and possibly beyond. It's not a quick operation; they're planning for the long haul.
An IDF spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, put it pretty clearly in an interview: "We have thousands of targets ahead." He added, "We are ready, in coordination with our U.S. allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover, about three weeks from now. And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that." Passover starts in late March, so that timeline takes us into April. This isn't just a few airstrikes; it's a sustained campaign. Reports from earlier in March suggested the Israeli military had prepared for a campaign lasting several weeks and was unlikely to involve Israeli ground forces.
On the ground, Israel said it struck additional Iranian targets on Saturday, including infrastructure tied to missile and air-defense systems. The IDF has separately said it hit an Iranian Space Agency-linked research center and missile-related facilities in Isfahan. This is part of a broader push against Iran's military infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in remarks published by the Israeli government on Thursday, emphasized an aggressive stance: "We do not wait. We initiate, we attack, and we do so with a force that is unprecedented." He also reportedly said the war against Iran could take "some time," even if not years.
Meanwhile, Iran isn't backing down. The country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote on social media on Sunday that "Iran has neither sought a truce nor talks. Such claims are delusional." He said Iran's armed forces would continue firing until U.S. President Donald Trump accepts that the war was illegal and that compensation is owed. So, no peace talks on the horizon here.
On the U.S. side, President Trump has said the campaign could last "four to five weeks." On Saturday, he pushed allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil and LNG normally passes. Trump has not ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops, even though there are intelligence doubts that airstrikes alone can topple Iran's leadership. So, the conflict is escalating, with both sides digging in for what looks like a prolonged confrontation.
