Former NATO chief: 'Neither Israel nor Iran wants a broad war' 

James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said in an interview that aired Sunday that Iran and Israel both do not desire a long, ongoing war.

“Neither side, neither Israel nor Iran, wants a broad war at this moment,” Stavridis said in an interview on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM with radio host John Catsimatidis. “Neither country is ready for it.”

Stavridis’s interview comes as the fighting in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas nears a year. Groups like Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has also fought against Israel amid the war in Gaza, are backed by Iran. Many have raised concerns about a possible expansion of the conflict amid recent tensions between Israel and Iran.

“I think you are going to see, and this is your point, more of this kind of shadowboxing than actual big punches landing,” Stavridis told Catsimatidis in the interview.

A public opinion survey published Thursday found 60 percent of American respondents backing the U.S. “supporting Israel militarily until the hostages are returned,” a key goal by Israel when it comes to its military operation in Gaza. 

However, a little less than half of the respondents to the survey, 49 percent, said they are for the U.S. “supporting Israel militarily until Hamas is dismantled or destroyed.”

“The war could end tomorrow if Hamas disarms, surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to Congress last month. “But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities, end its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.”