The “Official intimately familiar with”......aka...anonymous source...lol
Go back and read many of the other “Times of Israel” articles, more often than not they are a good bit off base if their is a benefit to Israel to present as such. Much of their bias comes in the form of narratives to encourage the US into positions more supportive of Israel but not always America First.
They are not as bad as the left but they definitely have a slant not always in the best interest of the USA.
mideasteye.com excerpt......In the Iran war plan’s initial conception, “Israel emphasized to Trump” the war would begin with the killing of Iranian leaders, followed by a “series of intelligence operations intended to encourage regime change”.
The vaunted Israeli Mossad intel believed, this would lead to a “mass uprising” that would bring about “victory” for Israel and the US.
As the war began, Trump’s public messaging to Americans reflected this thinking. In an eight-minute video statement Trump said: “Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand…when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
But talk of “regime change” quickly evaporated. Less than two weeks in, after billions of tax dollars were spent, US Senators came out of a briefing on the war to say that “overthrowing the Islamic Republic was NOT one of its goals.”
In fact, there was “no plan” at all for the military operation.
Sounds like a liar. The media, like Congress, is not despised enough.