Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Israel's military attack on Iran does not appear to be over in a matter of days. According to senior US and Israeli officials, the operation is expected to last for weeks and is being carried out with the tacit blessing of President Donald Trump's administration.
An Israeli official told CNN that the US government has not raised the length of the military campaign in internal discussions, while a White House official said the Trump administration is fully aware of and implicitly supports Israel's plans.
"The Trump administration is very confident that this conflict can be resolved through continued negotiations with the US," the White House official said, as reported on Sunday (15/6/2025).
He added that the United States would not direct Israel to take any action other than self-defense.
Despite signs of support, a number of voices in the US parliament have voiced concern over the direction and goals of Israel's operations against Iran.
Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton said that there are still many important questions that remain unanswered, especially regarding the effectiveness of the Israeli strikes in stopping Iran's nuclear program and the lack of clarity regarding Israel's"endgame" or ultimate goal.
"In principle, we don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon and we want to make sure they never do. But there are a lot of technical questions to be answered about how we get to that point," Moulton said.
Moulton, who is a member of the US House Armed Services Committee and a Middle East war veteran, believes that this hesitation is what has caused the US to not fully declare open support for Israel's attack on Iran.
"This is a government that has been trumpeting its alliance with Israel. But now they are being very careful to support (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu in these latest attacks," he said.
However, Moulton acknowledged that so far Israel"clearly has the upper hand," with the effectiveness of its strikes seen as far greater than Iran's response.
"I certainly want to be on Israel's side in this conflict, and that's why we support them. But at the same time, as we've long asked in the Gaza war, what is Netanyahu's endgame?" Moulton concluded.
