‘Strategic Bluff’: How Netanyahu Is Trying to Convince Trump on Iran
The Israeli leadership is seriously concerned that the U.S. administration under Donald Trump has shifted its focus on the Iranian issue. According to Ben Caspit in Al-Monitor, Israeli security services fear that Washington has concentrated…
Assessment
Israeli security services believe Iran is deliberately provoking skirmishes in the Persian Gulf to distract the United States from its nuclear infrastructure rebuild. Israeli leadership is concerned that the Trump administration has narrowed its Iran focus to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic worry is that Washington's attention on tankers and sea lanes gives Tehran time to restore damaged nuclear sites. Watch for whether Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to shift the White House's focus back to Iran's nuclear program succeed.