Why Netanyahu Decided to Strike Iran Now
In the early hours of Friday, Israel launched a major attack on Iran’s nuclear areas and arms facilities and targeted most of the best military officials. In retaliation, Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem late on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes will “continue for days to eliminate this threat”. On the other hand, President Trump, who said he wanted to re -negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran recently, released from the original nuclear agreement signed during the Obama administration – a strong support for the Israeli attack. [the Iranians] They did not take a chance and a chance. They were shot hard, very hard. . . . And there is more future. “
On Friday, I talked to the editor -in -chief Aluf Benn on the phone. Haarezz. During our speech for length and clarity, we discussed how Netanyahu used the strike, how the Prime Minister used his Trump understanding to maintain his own agenda and what this attack means for the future of the region.
Why do you think this is currently in June 2025, not earlier or in the future?
First of all, Israel has been fighting with Iran’s “resistance axis” for almost two years. Secondly, Israel has been designing and preparing a plan to attack Iran under follow -up leaders for more than twenty years. Most of the time, Netanyahu was responsible, but military leaders have long been thinking of dismantling Iran’s nuclear facilities in Israel in 1981 in Iraq and then in Syria, as they bombed a nuclear reactor. In both cases, these nuclear programs were seen as existential threats for Israel and destroyed the target, or destroyed the basic facilities.
The idea of bombing Iran has been for twenty years. Around 2012, Netanyahu and later Defense Minister Ehud Barak went to the top, but was finally stopped by the Obama administration, who signed an agreement with Iran to limit his nuclear program. At this point, some of the Israeli security and intelligence chiefs thought that Israel should not go alone and never attack Iran without American consent and information beforehand. In 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin bombed the nuclear reactor near Baghdad without telling the Americans. And this has been tension between the two governments for a while. However, in 2007, Ehud Olmert told George W. Bush a reactor built in the Syrian desert at the time. It was a secret facility. We shared intelligence with Bush, and Bush was thinking of attacking American forces for a while. But then the Americans decided to do it and allowed Israel to destroy the facility. Israel did not take responsibility for the strike for almost decades to embarrass and forcing Bashar al -Assad to retaliate.
This is not the case today. This attack is very visible and last year was followed by two fires change between Iran and Israel, and the assassination of one of Iran’s generals in Damascus was retaliated. In response, they fired all kinds of drones. But their attacks failed because Israel Centcom [the U.S. Central Command]. And then in October, there was once again Iran’s missile attacks and an Israeli attack that was successful in removing Iranian air defenses. This was followed by the collapse of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Assad regime in Syria, the two main ally of Iran around us. And he opened this path and opened a corridor for a final attack on nuclear facilities. But they waited for Trump to give green light.
There was a little more concern that Trump would not give a green light to this strike among the hawk Israelis, because he wanted an agreement with Iran. But what you say is that something important is actually timing and Trump is in the office.
First of all, the operational opportunity to have an open corridor due to the suppression of Iranian air defenses in October is important, and the Russians then did not renew their Iranian stocks and systems. And then Hezbollah’s defeat by IDF, the leadership of the leadership, the destruction of most of the powerful ballistic missile power, and then Assad fell. Now you can use a huge force to destroy goals in Iran. And recently, Israel’s preparations have completed preparations and Netanyahu has reportedly pressure to attack Iran. Like Trump’s public opposition, there were some different signs even until this week, but Netanyahu told him in advance.
And today Trump was very supportive.
Under this presidential support, we have something very important, and this was one of the last decisions of Trump’s first period, which will include Israel Centcom. This made Israel a part of the US regional air defense and missile defense system. In other words, Israel does not trust American bombardment and American troops on the ground, but there is Coörurtation, Coöreration, Intelligence Sharing and Cerera.
Netanyahu has a very good understanding of Trump for both Iran and Gaza. Trump will say he wants to make an agreement with Iran. He will say he wants a ceasefire in Gaza, but he will not really pressure Israel to prevent him from doing what he wants to do, whether he really cares about attention or not.
There have been many criticisms in Gaza that Israel has done. But first of all, historically, the United States gave Israel a very free hand against Palestinians. Even when Israel followed what he wanted, he was always different in the regional issues that America always had the last word. Trump’s decision to stop the nuclear agreement in 2018 – he always had the last word. And in this case, Trump asked for an agreement. The Iranians had accepted the American conditions to stop uranium enrichment, they could make an agreement. Trump gave them time, and then they didn’t answer, so Israel attacked. Similarly, Israel begged for the ceasefire in the North with Hezbollah, and at the time, Hezbollah’s death leader said, “No, we will support our brothers in Gaza and continue to shoot in Israel and keep the second front open.” They could be saved.
You can say that Israel can stop the war in Gaza, which can help regional things.
Definitely. However, Netanyahu still depends on the last occupation of Gaza and the destruction of the Palestinians. . . And in the end, to remove the Palestinians from there and to follow what he calls Trump Plan: to give the land only to holiday villages and Israeli settlements. This is still the official Israeli policy in Gaza.
Is Israel now sufficient for an attack on Iran to leave Gaza, or does it use the defeat of the resistance to conclude the occupation of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians? This is seen.
While reading your newspaper, it is clear that many people believe that Netanyahu expanded the war in Gaza for his own political reasons and cannot distinguish the war from the personal desires of Netanyahu. Is the situation here?
First of all, when attacking Iran, there is a very strong support in Israel at least in Jewish society – I can say a virtual consensus. We said olma Don’t go to war ,, but if this forces a minority position and Israel to destroy the Iranian nuclear program and to surrender Iran in some way, or if the Iranian regime a change will be a smaller minority. However, one of Netanyahu’s talents throughout the war was to carry out popular policies when he and his leadership were not popular and still left behind in public opinion research. The demolition policy and even the partial occupation of Gaza became very popular to punish Hamas for doing it on October 7. The policy of attacking Iran is extremely popular and there is no real opposition in Israel. The opposition was only the fear of alienation of the United States, or the fear of such an operation was too risky to succeed.
