Why the apparent Trump–Netanyahu alignment on Iran may conceal a deeper strategic divergence.

In my earlier essay, Ally or Instrument? Israel in the Shadow of US–Iran Talks, I argued that Israel increasingly risks becoming a secondary variable within broader American geopolitical calculations rather than the central reference point of US regional strategy. The current confrontation with Iran sharpens that concern even further.

The renewed image of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu standing together against Iran has revived a familiar assumption in Israeli public discourse: that the two leaders ultimately share the same strategic vision regarding the Iranian threat.

At first glance, the assumption appears reasonable. Trump has consistently projected himself as one of the most pro-Israel presidents in American history. His administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moved the US embassy, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, withdrew from the JCPOA, and openly framed Iran as a destabilizing regional force. Against this background, many Israelis continue to interpret Trump’s posture as evidence of deep strategic alignment with Israel’s long-term security doctrine.

But this perception risks confusing tactical convergence with strategic identity.

The fact that two governments temporarily cooperate against a common adversary does not mean they define the threat in identical terms, assign the same urgency to it, or seek the same end-state. Beneath the appearance of wartime coordination lies a potentially profound divergence between American political interests and........

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