JERUSALEM (AA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a security consultation session on Iran on Monday amid estimates of a potential US escalation.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said: "The prime minister will hold a limited security discussion tonight amid the escalation with Iran."

Ministers and officials from the military and intelligence agencies are participating in the meeting.

On Monday, the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that "according to the Israeli assessment, the end of the FIFA World Cup in the United States on Sunday gives US President Donald Trump an opportunity to act against Iran until September."

It added that this is based on the "assumption that he does not want to enter a war ahead of the US midterm elections" in November.

It added that "this assessment indicates the possibility of an escalation of fighting if no agreement is reached."

Regarding the possibility of Israel entering the war, the newspaper said that Israeli officials are awaiting a pretext for that, and believe that if it does not appear, it can be found later.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if it attacks it, while Tehran has not carried out any attack on it since the current tensions with Washington escalated.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched an aggression on Iran, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths, according to Tehran, which responded with attacks that killed Americans and Israelis.

For more than a week, Tehran has been launching attacks on what it says are US military installations in Arab countries, in response to the daily US bombing that Iran is subjected to.

On July 8, Trump announced the end of the ceasefire stipulated in the memorandum of understanding signed with Tehran on June 18.

Trump's announcement came after Iran targeted three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran insists on imposing a mechanism to regulate the passage of ships through the strategic waterway, while Washington demands what it describes as guaranteeing freedom of navigation and its security in the strait.

The escalation has disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and threatened air traffic and energy supplies, amid intermittent closures of airspace and warnings of targeting US facilities and interests outside the Middle East.