Netanyahu alone is at the helm

It can be said in many ways, but the meaning is the same: Benjamin Netanyahu is the one steering the ship of the war. Even many Republicans in the US, who are far from being anti-Zionist, understand this. The excellent Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, Washington correspondent, who often speaks by phone with Donald Trump, put it this way: with each passing day, Trump identifies more and more with Netanyahu.

This isn't just happening now, during the war; the same thing happened when the conflict erupted almost three weeks ago. Last Tuesday Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, resignedKent has suggested that Trump, who chose him for the position, lied when he said Iran was an imminent threat to US security. Kent justified his resignation by saying that "in good conscience" he could not support the war. "Iran did not represent an imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," he explained, echoing an argument shared not only by the left wing of the Democrats but also by many conservative Republicans allied with Trump. Shifting Justifications

In the last three weeks, Trump has justified the war with various arguments, and on Wednesday he said that the Republican administration doesn't need "unintelligent people," like Joe Kent, meaning those who believe the war is not sufficiently justified. It's worth remembering that Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, has also suggested that Israel dragged the United States into the war and left Trump with a "very difficult decision." A few days earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated quite explicitly that Israel dragged the United States into the war, but Trump denied it, and Rubio had to backtrack a few hours later. In any case, this view is shared by a significant number of conservative Republicans, a sector that is distancing itself from Israel. It's difficult to know whether the Republican Party's relationship with Israel will change in the short or medium term, but this is a distinct possibility that they are considering in the Jewish state. It seems unlikely that the President Trump we know will change course on this issue, but it's clear that the Republican base isn't the same as it was a few years ago, and attitudes toward the Iran war are proof of that.

In any case, Netanyahu has not only dragged Trump into the war, but he's also steering the conflict. It seems unlikely that the war will end unless Netanyahu offers some political concessions in exchange for stopping it. The Israeli elections will take place before October 27.On a date yet to be determined, and for Netanyahu, the war is a significant element of his election campaign. Some recent polls question his popularity, so the Israeli prime minister needs to achieve clear and convincing results on the battlefield. That is what his voters are demanding. This situation means he will try to prolong the conflict until public opinion is convinced that he remains the best option for the future. Therefore, the decision to end the war depends more on the Israeli leader than on Trump.