The United States and Israel are currently aligned in strategy on Iran. But that will likely change as the war drags on.
implicitly lambasted Israel late on Wednesday for attacking an Iranian gas field. Trump warned on social media that “NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely and valuable South Pars Field .
” Trump also claimed — not credibly — that Israel had not notified his administration in advance of the strike. Then, on Thursday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress, “The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government.”This rhetoric reflects a deeper truth. Ultimately, the U.S. and Israel share just one key objective in their war on Iran: degrading Iran’s nuclear program to the point that it cannot credibly threaten Israel. Beyond that, the two countries have their own objectives. This was always going to be the case. No state has the exact same interests as another, no matter how close their alliance. Consider how America’s closest ally, the United Kingdom, has before this war began, where American strategy toward Iran must consider other global threats, such as that posed by China toward Taiwan, Israel has a singular focus on ending the Iranian regime. Currently, the two countries share a broadly united military strategy in Iran. But that unity of purpose is unlikely to hold as the war continues and new opportunities for diplomacy emerge.. In the short term, Trump’s admonition of Israel shows that he wants energy targets excluded from this military campaign. Trump fears the war’s impact on the global economy in the run-up to the November midterm elections. And while Trump pledged on Thursday not to deploy troops into ground combat operations, recent military deployments are at least partly designed to allow the U.S. to. The Trump administration has also clearly concluded that Israeli decapitation strikes against the Iranian leadership are necessary to generate new leaders more inclined to a postwar peace accord. But when those leaders eventually do emerge, the splits in U.S. and Israeli strategy will become more pronounced. At that point, Trump will likely focus on an agreement that sees Iran suspend its regional attacks in return for a new nuclear accord. In contrast, Israel will likely wish to maintain military strikes on Iran until the regime agrees to give up its nuclear program, relinquish any future efforts to reconstitute its ballistic missile program, and end its support for regional proxies. U.S. and Israeli strategic interests divide most pivotally on Iran’s possible descent into state failure or a prolonged civil war.) seems unlikely to occur. In the alternative, Israel wouldn’t mind Iran’s descent into drawn out civil war or state failure, being that this would complicate the regime’s ability to threaten Israel. Yet, contrary to U.S. interests, this scenario “have to manage the internationally reverberating humanitarian, security, and economic effects of that state failure. It might not mean nation-building, but it would certainly mean salvage operations.” These disagreements do not mean, as too many suggest, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu somehow tricked the U.S. into this war. Trump was clearly persuaded of his own volition that the time was opportune to launch a necessary military campaign. Whether we agree or disagree with that assessment , it is absurd to pretend this war is the result of some kind of Israeli conspiracy. Again, however, sovereign states ultimately act in their own individual interests.. Still, it is equally inaccurate to claim, as too many conservatives do, that Israel is the greatest American ally. Just as it kills many American enemies, as any FBI counterintelligence agent will admit, Israel’s Mossad intelligence service runs aggressive, albeit recruitment-centric, human intelligence operations on U.S. soil. In addition, Israel’s sustained sharing, especially under Netanyahu, of high-tech capabilities with China has strengthened the People’s Liberation Army at grave risk to American lives. Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren EUROPE SHOULD PROVIDE STRAIT OF HORMUZ NAVAL ESCORTS, NATO NOTWITHSTANDING To that end, the U.S. and Israel should maintain collaborative strategies on Iran as long as doing so suits their own interests. Those interests will remain broadly aligned for the next couple of weeks.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iran lashes out with attacks on Israel and Gulf neighbors as Israel hits BeirutIran has lashed out with multiple attacks on its Gulf neighbors and Israel following the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses and killing two near Tel Aviv.
Read more »
Iran lashes out with attacks on Israel and Gulf neighbors as Israel hits BeirutIran has lashed out with multiple attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors and Israel following the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses.
Read more »
Iran hits back at Israel and Gulf states following Larijani assassination as Israel strikes BeirutIran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says the force has launched Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles to avenge Larijani’s killing.
Read more »
Ex-US counterterror chief probed by FBI after claiming Israel pushed US into Iran war: reportJoe Kent is suspected of sharing classified information with media figures as FBI examines disclosures related to Iran and Israel.
Read more »
Israel and Iran attack gas facilities, in a major escalation that rattles marketsPresident Trump said that Israel acted alone when it struck the South Pars gas field in Iran. Trump threatened Iran to halt its attacks on Qatar's facilities, or face a 'blow up' of their South Pars field.
Read more »
Israel’s relentless Iran regime change campaign complicates US hopes of negotiatingIsrael's pursuit of total regime change in Iran is complicating President Donald Trump's goal of negotiating with any reformist insiders.
Read more »