The war with Iran that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partnered on is now entering its fifth month. Iran is a wreck. But so is the relationship between America and Israel.
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Michael Makovsky, CEO of the more hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security of America, is a critic of Trump’s MOU and thinks the war should continue until Iran’s nuclear program is eliminated and the Strait of Hormuz is fully open to traffic.
Makovsky, who spoke to me after being part of a delegation that met with Netanyahu on June 22, said public feuding between American and Israeli officials “only boomerangs against us” and benefits Iran.
“It’s a little mind-boggling, frankly, and obviously strategically damaging to the United States to have these public spats when President Trump does it, and obviously it’s really stupid if any Israeli official does that as well,” Makovsky said.
The Iranians, Makovsky added, “are effectively mocking President Trump” by denying the terms of the announced agreement and continuing to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz. America’s relationship with Israel can be further strained by a “strategically feckless” resolution that leaves Iran’s regime in place, doesn’t address nuclear concerns and allows for Iranian control of the strait, he said.
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