Netanyahu plays it safe in a Washington that’s cooled on Israel

In his latest effort to influence the Trump administration’s approach to the Iran war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is stopping short of urging any specific actions, sticking instead to offering advice and information for now.

The approach, described by a senior Israeli official who briefed journalists on Wednesday, was a tacit acknowledgement that Israel, and Netanyahu in particular, need to tread carefully around President Donald Trump at a time when the Middle Eastern country’s stock is low in the White House and the U.S. at large.

In a meeting Tuesday lasting more than an hour, Netanyahu and Trump surveyed three options for the future of the Iran war: Reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, pursue only economic pressure through sanctions and a continuing blockade, or step up military action, the senior Israeli official said. The official was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations.


Asked if Netanyahu advocated for a specific course, the official said Netanyahu didn’t advocate for anything in particular but drilled down in specific detail about each of the roads ahead.

“The value of what we did … is I think we added some new ideas,” the senior Israeli official said.

Earlier in the conflict, Netanyahu and his aides were more prescriptive in their counsel to Trump, outlining a military plan that would see Iran’s regime fall quickly that failed to bear out. Now Netanyahu is more circumspect.

The Israelis know that Trump is in charge, so they’re being cautious about not being perceived as making demands, said a Trump administration official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. “They have some repair work to do.”

The official explained that the White House has been frustrated with Netanyahu during the course of the Iran conflict, and Trump does not take kindly to demands from a foreign power.

Israel sees “no easy answer” as it and Washington weigh how to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and at least for Israel, undermining Iran’s Islamist regime, the senior Israeli official said.

“My preference is anything that will work,” the official said. “I don’t disregard the concern that people have that if you do something that doesn’t work and kick up the cost of oil … what does that do to the world economy? I don’t think that’s something we can dismiss.”

Netanyahu must avoid any perception that he is driving the countries to escalate further, particularly at a moment when he needs to keep Trump onside, said Shalom Lipner, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who worked for several Israeli prime ministers.

“Given both the toxic atmosphere surrounding Israel in Washington and Trump’s personal sensitivity to charges of being manipulated, the prime minister is treading extra carefully in order to prevent any appearances of encouraging the U.S. to resume a war that remains highly unpopular among the American people,” he said.