Middle East scholar Dr. Edy Cohen assesses that Iranian reactions to the latest US strikes reflect a view of the confrontation as an "ongoing game with no end in sight," and that Tehran is sending a direct message to President Trump — according to a post circulated via Israeli channels.
Dr. Edy Cohen, a research associate at the Bar-Ilan University Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and a prominent Iran analyst on Israeli media, posted an assessment this morning of the Iranian elite's internal discourse following this week's US strikes under Operation Epic Fury. According to the post, circulated via Israeli security channels, Iranian officials and commentators characterize the current round as a "protracted game" from which they see no exit — a framing Cohen presents as evidence that Tehran is not seeking immediate de-escalation through a ceasefire framework.
The analyst further states that Iran is sending a direct message to President Trump, though the specific content of the message is not detailed in the post. The assessment arrives amid a complex diplomatic landscape: as The Zioneer reported earlier, US officials have said Trump's patience is wearing thin but that he has not abandoned the Qatari-mediated channel, while the president himself stated on Truth Social that both Israel and Iran want an immediate ceasefire and that a "siege" will remain until a final deal. Cohen's analysis, an opinion piece rather than a hard intelligence report, suggests Tehran reads Trump's simultaneous pursuit of a deal as a signal of American weakness — a view shared by analyst Yoni Ben Menachem in a separate post yesterday.
What remains open: the assessment is a single-source analyst attribution, not an on-record official statement from Tehran or Washington. The broader operational context — US Air Force strikes on Iranian strategic hubs, Iranian ballistic missile fire toward Kuwait and Bahrain, and ongoing Israeli operations in Lebanon — continues to evolve.
- DevelopingIran 'brings Trump's unclear messages down to reality,' analyst says after fresh US strikes
- DevelopingArab world reactions to current fighting: analyst says Tehran sees US weakness
- StrongIran warns of 'fitting response' after Trump strikes again; US gives Israel a 'red light'
- DevelopingUS officials: Trump has not abandoned diplomacy with Iran, patience wearing thin
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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