Mastodawn

#US - #Israel rift widens over potential end game in #Iran

Trump’s latest outburst against Israel’s attacks on Iran’s huge #SouthPars #gas field on Wednesday laid bare the tensions between the 2 allies & the inconsistency of Trump’s approach to the #war.

#TrumpsWar #Trump #Netanyahu #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil #energy #EnergyCrisis
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/20/us-israel-iran-goals-trump-netanyahu/

U.S.-Israeli rift widens over potential endgame in Iran

Israel’s assault on the world’s largest natural gas deposit has renewed tensions between the two allies’ end goals in Iran.

The Washington Post

Show thread

Nonilex Mar 20

#Trump said #Israel had “violently lashed out” at #Iran & distanced himself from the assault on the world’s largest natural #gas deposit, which Iran shares with #Qatar, a close #US #ally & host of Washington’s biggest military base in the Gulf.

“The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, & the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it,” Trump posted.
 But multiple officials directly contradicted that claim…

#FactCheck #TrumpLies

Show thread

Nonilex Mar 20

Admin officials said that while the #US was not involved in the strike, the Israelis informed Washington about the attack in advance.
The incident, which drove #energy prices higher & prompted retaliatory Iranian missile fire at #Qatar’s main #gas facility & #SaudiArabia’s capital, was indicative of #Trump’s vacillation as he’s tried to manage an unpopular #war that has killed 13 Americans to date.

#Iran #Israel #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #geopolitics #MiddleEast #economy #oil #EnergyCrisis

Show thread

Nonilex Mar 20

#Trump has marveled at the devastation the military campaign has wrought on the #Iran regime while recoiling at the catastrophic #economic impacts rippling across the globe, said #US officials….
 #Netanyahu’s months-long campaign to convince Trump to attack Iran & Secy of State #MarcoRubio’s off-the-cuff disclosure that #Israel’s determination to strike compelled US officials to act, infuriated Trump’s “America First” supporters, who questioned a foreign power’s role in bringing the US to #war.

Show thread

Nonilex Mar 20

The admin tried to reset the narrative that the #war was #Trump’s decision alone but that was undercut by the resignation of Trump’s top counterterrorism ofcl, #JoeKent, who wrote in his resignation letter that the US was dragged into another #MiddleEast war “due to pressure from #Israel & its powerful American lobby.”
 #Netanyahu, for his part, is seizing an opportunity to decimate an arch rival under a US president that has given him a longer military leash than any other leader in US history…

Show thread

Nonilex

…#Israel ofcls denied the 2 countries are misaligned, saying #Trump & #Netanyahu talk almost every day & are pursuing a divide-&-conquer strategy based on their strengths. “Israel coordinates everything with the US,” an Israeli ofcl said.
But other ofcls say significant cracks in the alliance emerged in the 2nd week of the #war as Israel’s attacks on #Iran #oil facilities unleashed clouds of #toxic smoke & #AcidRain & the economic impacts of Iran’s closure of the #StraitOfHormuz began to sink in

Show thread

Nonilex Mar 20

“#Israel is pursuing a scorched-earth campaign of #RegimeChange, which is not what our goal is,” said a snr #US admin ofcl. “Bibi wants to wreck #Iran’s #economy & decimate its #energy infrastructure. #Trump wants to keep it intact.”

…In a House Intelligence hearing Thurs, asked about the misalignment of US-Israel #war aims by Joaquin Castro (D-TX), DNI #TulsiGabbard said, “The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different than the goals laid out by the Israeli government.”