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In this interview with The Wire about the ongoing United States (US)-Israeli conflict with Iran, Alon Ben-Meir, an Iraqi-born Jewish-American political scientist and seasoned West Asia negotiator, says that the “majority of Republicans, especially Evangelical Christians, support Israel no matter what Israel does or does not”. A former Senior Fellow and Middle East Project Director at the World Policy Institute and founder of the Center for Strategic Development, Ben-Meir has participated in informal negotiations involving Israel, Arab states and Turkey. He has also acted as a bridge between regional officials and engaged in Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Syrian dialogue efforts. He remains a consistent supporter of the Arab Peace Initiative and a strong advocate of a negotiated two-state solution.

A prolific commentator, Ben-Meir writes for The Jerusalem Post and appears on platforms such as CNN and Al Jazeera. In the course of this interview, he tells Farooq Shah: “The current Israeli government is biting more than it can chew; it has paid dearly because of the Gaza war”. According to him, “Iran’s aspiration to obtain nuclear weapons is not to annihilate Israel but to deter it from further attacking Iran in the future.” He says that the killing 175 children, in the school in Minab, Iran, bombed on the first day of the attacks, is “something Iranians will not forget”, while both the US and Iran miscalculated the scale and impact of this conflict. He also speaks about the lack of direction in US policy, which has left the Donald Trump administration “stuck not knowing what to do next”, especially after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Excerpts from the interview:

Alon Ben-Meir, former Senior Fellow and Middle East Project Director at the World Policy Institute and founder of the Center for Strategic Development.

There is an argument circulating among some commentators that Israel initiated the current conflict in Iran independently and that the United States (US) effectively joined after the fact. From your understanding, how accurate is this characterisation of the decision-making behind the war?

This argument is totally incorrect. Israel and the US have fully coordinated this unfortunate attack. Albeit [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu pushed [US President Donald] Trump to agree, making the case that unless there is regime change in Iran, we should not expect this regime to ever agree to dismantle its nuclear program and certainly not its ballistic missile production. Furthermore, Netanyahu argued that Iran is at its weakest state at this juncture, which offered a window of opportunity to attack, an opportunity that may not present itself later.

Given the geographical distance between the US and West Asia, why does Washington appear so readily drawn into confrontations involving Israel? Many voices within the US question policies that seem to place American leadership, whether under Trump or previous administrations, in the position of playing second fiddle to Israel. How do you explain this persistent strategic posture?

That is, unfortunately, the case. The US is not necessarily playing second fiddle to Israel. That said, Israel exerts substantial influence on America’s foreign policy, especially in connection with West Asia and, in particular, in relation to Iran and the Palestinians. The powerful pro-Israel lobby – AIPAC – plays a major role in promoting Israel’s interests in all US political circles, especially among Congressional policymakers, and does so through financial contributions. And of course, there is the religious dimension; a majority of Republicans, especially Evangelical Christians, support Israel no matter what Israel does or does not [do]. They exert tremendous influence on the administration to come to Israel’s aid under any circumstances.

Both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu appear to believe that decapitating Iran’s leadership or striking critical command structures could destabilise the regime. Yet Iran has long anticipated such contingencies and built safeguards against them. Given........

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