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NETANYAHU’S IRAN ATTACK TRUMPS TRUMP  
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Robert Kuttner
June 13, 2025
The American Prospect
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_ Basically, U.S. policy in the Middle East is a stepchild of Israeli
policy, and Netanyahu keeps playing Trump for a fool (which is not
hard). Netanyahu played the same games when Democrats were in power,
with minor limits. _

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Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have one thing on common, beyond
their penchant for illegal one-man rule. They are both masters at the
uses of distraction.

Is the schoolyard brawl with Elon Musk an embarrassment and Trump’s
Ukraine policy of cultivating Vladimir Putin an abject
failure? _Invade LA._

Is Gaza a humanitarian and logistical nightmare, and are the
ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s coalition on the verge of
bringing down the government? _Make war on Iran._

Netanyahu plays this game a lot better than Trump does. For weeks, we
have been hearing from the White House that Trump’s Middle East
diplomacy was deliberately isolating Netanyahu. Trump would make his
own deal with Hamas on Gaza
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would reach his own agreement with Iran
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limit nuclear capability, whether Israel liked it or not.

_MORE FROM ROBERT KUTTNER_
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Well, that was then. Trump’s lead negotiator with Iran, Steve
Witkoff, was about to head to Oman’s capital, Muscat,
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a sixth round of talks with Iran when Israel simply decapitated
Iran’s negotiating team.

As late as Thursday afternoon, Trump was saying that an Israeli strike
was not imminent. “I don’t want them going in,” he told
reporters.

By Friday morning, after Israel struck, Trump clumsily posted on
Truth Social
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as if the Israeli strike was a triumph that complemented U.S.
diplomacy. “Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they
didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it
will only get worse!” Trump wrote. “Iran must make a deal, before
there is nothing left.” Later, to ABC News, Trump praised the
attack [[link removed]] in a
similar fashion.

Basically, U.S. policy in the Middle East is a stepchild of Israeli
policy, and Netanyahu keeps playing Trump for a fool (which is not
hard). Netanyahu played the same games when Democrats were in power,
with minor limits. I wish I could report that Biden had been notably
better than Trump at using U.S. leverage to constrain Netanyahu. He
wasn’t.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the U.S. had no advance
warning of the Israeli attack, but in fact Trump was in regular touch
with Netanyahu and knew what was coming. Israel did not ask Trump’s
permission because it didn’t need to.

Now that Netanyahu has presented Trump with a _fait accompli_, the
U.S. once again is in the position of having to support Israel if
events escalate into a regional war. Witkoff has told senior
Republicans in Congress
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his concern that even a weakened Iran has ballistic missile
capabilities that could break through Israel’s defenses, pulling in
the U.S.

The Israel lobby has swung into its usual role of making sure the that
U.S. gives Israel a blank check
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no matter how reckless Israel’s policy. Progressive Democrats were
outspoken in opposition.

“Iran would not be this close to possessing a nuclear weapon if
Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu had not forced America out of the
nuclear agreement with Iran that had brought Europe, Russia, and China
together behind the United States to successfully contain Iran’s
nuclear ambitions,” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said
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disaster of Trump and Netanyahu’s own making, and now the region
risks spiraling toward a new, deadly conflict.”

Murphy added that America has no obligation to follow Israel into war.
But if regional war comes, Israel will drag the U.S. into it. And that
will serve as one more convenient distraction for Trump—unless it
gets out of hand, as wars have a habit of doing.

_Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect,
and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School._

_Used with the permission. The American Prospect, Prospect.org, 2024.
All rights reserved. Click here
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[use the current article's link] to read the original article at
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* foreign policy
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* Israel
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* Iran
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* Donald Trump
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Middle East
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