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Netanyahu ‘doesn’t want US-Iran diplomacy to succeed’
Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the US-based Stimson Center think tank, says the Israeli prime minister is bringing “maximalist demands” to the White House.
“He considers Iran to be a mortal threat to Israel. He wants it weakened in any possible way. He would love to see regime change,” Slavin told Al Jazeera.
“But if he can’t have that, he would like to make sure that Iran has no nuclear programme whatsoever and that it has no missiles that could strike Israel.”
Slavin said that Netanyahu ultimately will be pushing the Trump administration to take “a very, very hard line” on Iran. “He doesn’t want diplomacy to succeed. He really wants the United States to attack again, presumably with Israel also attacking Iran,” she said.
“He clearly was worried, especially because Donald Trump said some rather optimistic things after the talks in Oman,” Slavin told Al Jazeera, referring to recent discussions between US and Iranian officials in the Gulf country. Iran described the talks in Muscat as a “good start” and suggested that another round of negotiations with the US will be set up.
But a deal that would focus solely on the Iranian nuclear programme “would not satisfy Netanyahu”, Slavin said. “So, I think he’s in a little bit of a panic.”
She added that Netanyahu, who is running for re-election this year, also “wants to make sure that the United States doesn’t raise any complaints over Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank”.
‘Netanyahu looking for win on Iran ahead of Israeli vote’
Netanyahu has a lot to consider, namely that there might be early elections in Israel, and he’s struggling to get his budget approved.
Toppling the government in Iran would make him king of all kings, as far as Israeli policy is concerned, and that’s something he can take to the ballot and win with. This is also an issue of consensus, as Netanyahu’s position on Iran enjoys support from the opposition and the coalition, even though there is some criticism around his tactics.
Netanyahu now needs to convince Trump that a deal is not something that will yield results and that Iran cannot be trusted. But if a deal is reached, he needs to make sure that this is up to par with what Israel can live with. He wants Iran to be permanently disabled and that, in effect, is a formula to ensure that Israel continues to be the hegemon in the region.
