By Elijah J. Magnier
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can already present himself as a winner in the war against Iran, although he has not achieved the collapse of the Iranian political system. His success lies elsewhere. He persuaded President Donald Trump that a short military campaign could break Tehran, accelerate internal disintegration and produce a more obedient leadership without requiring a prolonged American commitment.
Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington on Monday gives this argument immediate relevance. His meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday will test whether he can once again translate Israel’s strategic preferences into American policy, despite the unforeseen military, economic and regional consequences produced by the campaign he originally encouraged.
The initial calculation resembled the logic applied to Venezuela: remove or neutralise the leadership, intensify economic and military pressure, encourage internal fractures and assume that the governing system will collapse under the combined weight. Iran was expected to lose command cohesion, face popular unrest and accept American conditions once its military vulnerability had been publicly demonstrated.
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