The primary goal of Netanyahu's latest meeting with Donald Trump is to clarify the Americans' true intentions and to frankly ascertain whether military action against Iran will actually be on the table should negotiations fail. The Prime Minister's initiative is therefore preemptive and entirely justified.
The rich experience of the past proves that Iranian mullahs want to buy time and are cunning and skilled in bargaining.
As a rule, Western diplomats negotiate for a better future and to secure a solid agreement, while the Iranians, Qataris, or Turks behave like carpet merchants in an oriental bazaar. They seek only immediate gain without considering the long term.
Certainly, the American negotiators are aware of the risks and will avoid falling into the Iranian trap again. However, how can they accept that a rogue state, on the verge of bankruptcy, presumes to dictate the agenda and condition all the issues that will be raised during the negotiations? This is truly the theater of the absurd in international relations.
Unlike European diplomacy, which is based on national interest, multilateralism, international institutions, and above all, the pursuit of commercial interests, the United States possesses numerous advantages. It asserts the primacy of principles and values but can, without much hesitation, use its military and economic power to reshape the world order after each crisis.
President Trump is not an ideologue or a diplomat, but rather a businessman who doesn't mince words and vulgarly says what he really thinks.
However, when defense and security issues are at stake and threats against Israel are omnipresent, the security of the State of Israel is not to be bargained with, and Trump cannot grant the mullahs a lifeline.
The Middle East has been destabilized for five decades because of the Islamist regime. Israelis, in particular, cannot live in daily fear and uncertainty.
This isn't the first time the Americans have negotiated with the Iranians, but Trump gives us the impression that he's finally agreeing to adopt the policies of Obama and Biden. And yet, it was he who abrogated the famous treaty signed in Vienna in 2015 and also bombed the nuclear sites ten years later…
Which Donald Trump could we rely on? Why didn't he force Iran to surrender right after the 12-Day War?
It is worth recalling that previously, Iran had managed, through cunning and manipulation, to avoid both any military action against its nuclear sites and to lift the sanctions, without any major concessions on the ground.
The current situation is untenable, and President Trump must make a decision despite all the constraints, the divisions within his own party, and the pressure from Arab and Muslim countries. For now, military intervention is ruled out, plunging Iranian opposition members into terror and despair, while the Islamist regime will likely remain in power for a long time to come.
Netanyahu must unequivocally reject any nuclear agreement that is based on lies and does not also include ballistic missiles, an end to Iranian support for Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas, and a halt to the daily threats to annihilate the Jewish state. In fact, without these essential clauses, Trump will be signing a flawed and dangerous treaty that will encourage nuclear proliferation and Islamist terrorism.
In this uncertain context and given all the promises that have not been kept by previous administrations, Netanyahu will have to return to Jerusalem with guarantees and strong security assurances.
Past experience cannot leave us indifferent. Faced with this existential threat, Israel must be even more vigilant and rely solely on itself. It is therefore crucial to strengthen the technological capabilities and expertise of the Mossad to be the first to report ongoing violations.
Israel is not a party to the agreement and is therefore free to defend itself and prepare for all options so that the ayatollahs of Iran will never be able to acquire nuclear weapons and launch their ballistic missiles.
