It is clear that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu was a major influence on US president Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel in a war against Iran.
But many in the US, including influential right-wing figures within the Maga camp, have gone further and argued that Trump is now fighting a war the majority of Americans oppose, at the behest of Israel.
Trump has rejected such a notion, telling reporters at the White House on Tuesday: “Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
Netanyahu called the claims that Israel pushed the US into a war “ridiculous.”
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“Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America. He does also what he thinks is right for future generations,” he said.
There is also a narrative, based on comments from senior administration officials, that Israel was going to attack Iran anyway, Iranian retaliation against the US was inevitable and this is what prompted Trump to agree to war.
[ Israeli strikes target Iran and Lebanon as US warns of bombardment ‘surge’Opens in new window ]
According to a New York Times report, Netanyahu first raised the prospect of hitting Iran’s missile sites during a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in December. Two months later, he reportedly secured broader US involvement in a campaign aimed at bringing down the Iranian leadership.
What is clear is that the US decision to strike Iran is a significant victory for Netanyahu, possibly his most successful diplomatic achievement.
He has spent much of his long career lecturing US presidents and congressional leaders on the need to confront Iran, which he views as an existential threat, citing its support for proxy militias across the region, its ballistic missile arsenal, and its nuclear programme.
In 2018 Trump withdrew, at Netanyahu’s urging, from the nuclear deal signed by the Barack Obama administration with Iran. Netanyahu argued that the deal actually paved the way for Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb.
On the second day of the war Netanyahu said in a statement that the US involvement “allows us to do what I have been hoping to do for 40 years – to deliver a crushing blow to the terror regime.”
In press conferences a few years ago, Netanyahu liked to hold a big chart showing the overwhelming support Israel enjoyed among the American public. But US public opinion has shifted, particularly among Democrats and college students, who are today much more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
Bipartisan support for Israel can no longer be taken for granted and if the war ends badly many will blame Israel.
