Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 28 unfolded against the backdrop of their divergent priorities regarding the lingering war in Iran.

Netanyahu seeks a more aggressive approach to Iran, being intent on finishing a war that was paused by a ceasefire that has been repeatedly broken by the Iranian regime since April.

He believes that additional attacks are needed to further degrade Iran’s remaining capabilities.

Netanyahu wants to destroy what is still left of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, eliminate its stockpile of ballistic missiles and drones, and weaken its Axis of Resistance, which is composed of Hezbollah, Hamas, militias in Iraq and the Houthis of Yemen.

With a general election in Israel due to take place on October 27, Netanyahu is particularly eager to resolve these issues to increase his reelection chances.

With an eye on midterm elections in November, Trump seeks an agreement with Iran that will extricate him from a protracted and unpopular war. This conflict has led to the virtual closure of  the Strait of Hormuz, the disruption of the global economy, and a spike in oil and natural gas prices in the United States.

In short, the unfinished war in Iran was on Netanyahu’s mind as he flew to Washington, while the unfinished negotiations with Iran consumed Trump.

When he and Trump launched joint military operations in Iran on February 28, there was no daylight between them inasmuch as they shared identical objectives. Since then, however, their interests have diverged.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House several days after Trump cancelled a series of US air strikes in Iran and announced that his envoys are trying yet again to negotiate a deal with the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)