Metaphorically speaking, champagne bottles were uncorked in the Jerusalem office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Donald Trump declared at the Nato summit in Ankara that the ceasefire with Iran was over. Trump’s remarks – in which he branded Iran’s leaders ‘scum’, ‘a cancer’, and ‘liars’ – were sweet music to Netanyahu and his government. 

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The 60-day ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar on 17 June to end the war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other – a war that began on 28 February – was effectively imposed on Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister, Mossad, the Israel Defence Forces, and the Israeli Air Force all wanted the fighting to continue. Although they do not admit it publicly, they know that they failed to achieve their stated objectives. 

Indeed, Iran’s military capabilities were severely degraded, but its nuclear and missile programs were not destroyed, as both Trump and Netanyahu had claimed and expected. Above all, the radical clerical regime was not overthrown. The CIA and the Trump administration have blamed Mossad for the failure of the regime-change strategy. However, conversations I have held with senior officials from both Mossad and Israeli Military Intelligence paint a different picture. According to them, the plan to overthrow the Iranian regime was developed in full cooperation........

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