US and Israeli tactics on Iran increasingly differ as Trump’s objectives stay undefined, despite public praise of their alliance, experts say.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly praise their strong relationship. Their tactical approaches to the ongoing conflict with Iran, however, are increasingly diverging after three weeks of attacks.
Experts attribute this growing split to Trump’s ill-defined strategic goals for the conflict. Trump recently stated he told Netanyahu not to attack Iran’s gas fields after an Israeli strike prompted Tehran to retaliate against a major energy hub in Qatar.
That retaliation sent global energy prices soaring further. The US also voiced unease earlier this month after Israeli strikes on fuel depots around Tehran blanketed the city in toxic smoke.
Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, acknowledged the divergence in a congressional hearing. “The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israelis,” she said.
Netanyahu has long declared Iran’s clerical government a top enemy, vowing to topple or crush it. Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute said, “Israel wants some sort of regime change whereas the United States is fuzzy and unclear about what the end state is.”
Trump faces mounting domestic pressure, with the war proving unpopular and driving higher gas prices months before US congressional elections. He also maintains close ties with Gulf Arab monarchies, which are softer Iranian targets than Israel and host US troops.
Netanyahu, facing his own election this year, publicly hailed Trump’s leadership after the gas fields reproach. “He’s the leader. I’m, you know, his ally,” Netanyahu said at a news conference.
Katulis noted Trump has pressured Israel before, forcing a Gaza ceasefire last year. “It’s not unimaginable that Trump sees the cost of this war getting too high and hindering his domestic agenda,” he said.
The conflict marks a new dynamic for Israel, fighting as part of an alliance rather than alone. Yossi Mekelberg of Chatham House said initial aims of regime change met heavy Iranian counter-attacks.
“If it starts going really wrong, and we know that Trump is not the sentimental type, then the blame starts flying,” Mekelberg said.
Former Biden negotiator Robert Malley said Israel and Iran have clear goals of collapse and survival, respectively. The unpredictable actor, he argues, is Trump. “He’s offered a series of shifting goals, not just day by day but often hour by hour,” Malley said.
“In some ways, you need to be more of a psychologist than a policy analyst to be able to understand where we’re going,” he added.
