Comment by bigyabai

Do you understand how escalation works? US policymakers have discussed this for literal decades at this point, I'm shocked that we have to reiterate this.

Neither America nor Israel are willing to put boots on the ground. The bombing campaign failed, the naval campaign did not secure the Strait of Hormuz, and the enriched nuclear material is not going anywhere. If the war continues to escalate, America and Israel will be directly blamed for the humanitarian consequences of desalinization, ammonia and nitrogen plants being attacked. They cannot alleviate these issues with a air war, so they have to sue for peace or commit to a real invasion. Thus, the escalation ladder entirely belongs to Iran, they decide what the US and Israel coalition bleed for.

It's why the US threatened civilian infrastructure; they ran out of leverage. The stated goals were not attained, the home front in Iran is not divided, the China/Russia support axis is not disrupted, and America's allies won't fight alongside them for Israel. It's over, this is the damage control phase for both sides.