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Let’s start with some caveats.
It’s a simplification to suggest that Israel was the sole reason for the U.S. war on Iran, or that the most powerful country on the planet is somehow completely beholden to the demands of an Israeli Prime Minister.
Trump has consistently projected himself as a critic of war, and many have fallen for the act, but there’s never been a lot of there there. Just look at his foreign policy since returning to the White House in January. His administration has carried out attacks on Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Venezuela, and boats in the Caribbean. Many on the right (and some on the left) have fallen for this antiwar schtick, but there’s no reason to believe the President’s arm has to be twisted in order for him to back a military campaign.
The New York Times even reports that the kidnapping of the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro boosted Trump’s confidence regarding an attack on Iran, and he’s alluded to that operation multiple times while talking about the current war.
Having said all that, it’s abundantly clear that the United States responded to pressure from Israel in deciding to attack Iran.
For decades, Benjamin Netanyahu has been claiming that the country is on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon and must be stopped. As Prime Minister, he’s gotten virtually everything he’s wanted from every U.S. President, but, until now, they had yet to deliver on his biggest wish: a destabilizing war that incapacitates his enemies and allows him to build a “Greater Israel” throughout the Middle East.
After the strikes began, Netanyahu told a reporter that he had fulfilled his dream to bomb Iran thanks to Trump. “This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years,” he declared.
Israel’s role in pushing the United States to war isn’t a conspiracy theory. At this point, Netanyahu’s involvement is well-documented.
An extensively reported New York Times piece reveals that Trump had restarted nuclear negotiations with Iran, but that Netanyahu “wanted to make sure that the new diplomatic effort did not undermine” his vision. Trump’s “move toward war grew inexorably, fueled by allies like Mr. Netanyahu.”
“The U.S. decision to strike Iran was a victory for Mr. Netanyahu, who had been pushing Mr. Trump for months on the need to hit what he argued was a weakened regime,” notes the paper. During a meeting at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in December, Mr. Netanyahu had asked for the president’s approval for Israel to hit Iran’s missile sites in the coming months. Two months later, he got something even better: a full partner in a war to topple the Iranian leadership.”
Inconvenient facts like these occasionally permeate the mainstream media, but it’s very rare for elected officials to let the cat out of the bag. This time around, things have been different, as administration officials and Congress members are openly admitting that the U.S. went to war because of Israel.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” against Iran, Rubio told reporters on Monday.
“We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces… and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties … And then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn’t act,” Rubio continued.
So, the United States couldn’t stop Israel from attacking Iran, even though the Trump team knew it would mean dead U.S. soldiers?
Rubio later offered a sort of correction, insisting that the operation needed to happen either way, but hasn’t stopped Republicans from repeating his original point.
“This was a defensive measure,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters. “If Israel fired upon Iran and took action against Iran to take out the missiles, then [Iran] would have immediately retaliated against U.S. personnel and assets.”
“Israel faced an existential risk, and they were prepared to strike Iran alone,” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) told Fox News. “If that happened, Iran was very likely to target our troops. That may address the question of ‘Why now?’”
That explanation was also seemingly shared by Trump officials during a secret Senate briefing on the strikes.
“This is still a war of choice that has been acknowledged by others, that was dictated by Israel’s goals and timeline,” Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) told reporters after the meeting. “There was no imminent threat to the United States by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel. If we equate a threat to Israel as the equivalent of an imminent threat to the U.S., then we are in uncharted territory.”
These developments come amid a deepening battle over Israel within the Republican Party.
Last month, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, and Christian Zionist, Mike Huckabee, caused an international incident after he told conservative pundit Tucker Carlson that Israel was entitled to the vast majority of the Middle East. Huckabee made the comment after being pressed on the issue by Carlson, who has become increasingly critical of the U.S./Israel relationship.
These same tensions are currently on display, as the Iran attack has been criticized by prominent right-wing voices like Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon. The divide explains why sources close to J.D. Vance are already telling reporters that he allegedly opposed the strikes, as the Vice President looks to take over the White House after Trump’s term ends. Keep in mind that Kamala Harris lost votes for failing to separate herself from President Biden on Gaza.
The strikes are also occurring during midterm primaries, where Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC are being criticized like never before.
“Israel, after a long, devastating war in Gaza, has become so unpopular among many voters in the Democratic base that major candidates in top primaries are using even small connections to the country’s political leaders to hit their opponents,” declares a recent Politico piece on the topic.
One can expect Israel’s reputation to plummet even further as the war in Iran expands.
Netanyahu may have finally gotten his war, but he’s also further ignited the domestic battle over the U.S. relationship with Israel.
Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter: @michaelarria.
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