[News] Israel pressuring Trump to 'destroy' Iran's energy infrastructure

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Israel pressuring Trump to 'destroy' Iran's energy infrastructure: Report

A CIA analysis says Iran can withstand a US blockade of its ports and oil
exports for at least four months, amid reports that Trump has grown 'bored'
with the war

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

MAY 9, 2026 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-pressuring-trump-to-destroy-irans-energy-infrastructure-report
(Photo credit: Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/Middle East Images via AFP)

Israel has told the US that any return to fighting with Iran must include
the destruction of the Islamic Republic's energy infrastructure, Israel's
Channel 12 reported
<https://www.al-akhbar.com/news/world/891591/%D8%AA%D9%84-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A8-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%86-%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A>
on 9 May.

Israeli leaders are reportedly trying to convince their counterparts in
Washington that this is "the only practical way" to make progress in
confronting Tehran and that this would force the country to enter
negotiations from "a submissive position."

The channel quoted Israeli estimates that destroying Iran's energy
infrastructure could be accomplished in just "24 hours of strategic
bombing."

 "If you are not going to topple the regime, at least leave it paralyzed,"
one Israeli official was quoted as saying.

Additionally, Israeli broadcaster Kan, citing an Israeli official, reported
that US President Donald Trump is “inclined to resume fighting" and that
the Pentagon "had made actual preparations to launch strikes on Iranian
infrastructure, before the plan was ultimately canceled.”

The official added that Trump's reversal on resuming fighting "was not only
due to pressure from some Gulf states, but also as a result of pressure
from Jared Kushner and Steve Wittkopf, who believe it is possible to
extract concessions from Iran through negotiations."

Trump has previously threatened to bomb and destroy Iran's energy
infrastructure and commit genocide against its people.

In response, the Iranians warned that they would bomb all Israeli, US, and
US-linked infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region if their vital energy
facilities were targeted.

Saturday's reports from Israeli TV outlets come hours after *The Atlantic*
<https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/05/iran-war-trump-deal/687100/?gift=SCYx-5scVta3-cr_IlgTyXkf7AYAr_5xk2CmLcZ5mB8>
cited several White House aides and senior officials who said that
“President Trump really, really wants the war with Iran to end.”

“Trump is tired of the war, which has proved far more difficult and lasted
far longer than he had expected,” the report says.

Amid rising gas prices and declining poll support, Trump is concerned about
becoming entangled in a West Asian conflict similar to the one former
president George W. Bush faced. "He is ready to move on," the US magazine
stated.

Complicating matters for Trump, Iran has refused to return to the
negotiating table, making it impossible for Trump to reach an agreement
that he can claim as a victory.

While fighting has largely subsided, Iran continues to block passage
through the Strait of Hormuz for Gulf oil exports, threatening to push US
gasoline prices higher and cause a defeat for Trump's Republican party in
this fall's mid-term elections.

Washington is still waiting for Iran to respond to Trump's latest offer, a
one-page memorandum that seeks to extend the ceasefire.

“Trump never thought it would turn out like this. After the impressive
military operation to snatch Nicolas Maduro from Caracas, the president set
his eyes on Iran, telling confidants that it would be ‘another
Venezuela,’” *The
Atlantic* added, citing outside advisors to the president.

"Trump believed that the US military was unstoppable," and expected a
victory against Iran to come "in days, a week or two at most." However,
after two months of war, none of Trump's stated goals have been achieved.

One outside adviser, who speaks with Trump regularly, told the magazine
that the president is "bored" with the war.

Amid the impasse, a US naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian
ports remains in place in a bid to block Iranian oil exports to Asia.

However, a CIA assessment indicates Iran would not ‌suffer severe economic
pressure from the blockade for about another four months, the *Washington
Post *reported
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-countering-iranian-air-attack-after-trump-says-ceasefire-still-effect-2026-05-08/>
on Friday.
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