Netanyahu’s Existential Play

It’s existential for Netanyahu, not for Israel. Trita Parsi explains.

Israel's 'Kill First' Strategy Is Now Aimed at Turkey | The David Hearst Podcast

Jul 2, 2026 | David Hearst, editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, says that Donald Trump has signed two contradictory agreements to end his war on Iran. One promises an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, while the other gives Israeli forces occupying parts of southern Lebanon indefinite leave to remain.

Hearst says the Lebanon framework weakens Lebanese sovereignty, creates a military coordination group run from Washington, and obliges the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah, which many in Lebanon see as the only credible deterrent against Israeli attack.

He says that Lebanon has also granted immunity to Israeli troops and generals for war crimes committed during the invasion. He says that the contradiction reflects a tug of war inside the US administration. The Iran deal reflects the thinking of Vice President JD Vance, who opposed regime change in Tehran, while the Lebanon deal bears the imprint of Marco Rubio, who remains committed to that project.

Hearst argues that Israel’s failure to dictate terms to Iran has pushed it to regain power in Lebanon and Syria. But he says Israel is already turning its attention to Turkey, now presenting it as the “new Iran” and warning of a new Sunni axis involving Turkey, Syria and Qatar.

He concludes that Israel means what it says when Netanyahu vows to change the Middle East forever. The main battle line is now shifting to Lebanon and Syria, and hard power will be needed to stop Israel’s strategy of “kill them first”.

Trump Humiliates Netanyahu. Tucker Reacts.

Jun 19, 2026 | Tucker on Trump’s split from Netanyahu.

US-Iran Agreement Leaves Israelis 'in Profound State of Shock' • FRANCE 24 English

Jun 18, 2026 | Israeli leaders are privately fuming about the US-Iran deal, seeing the initial agreement as a form of capitulation. This comes as a final blow to the increasingly fraying relationship between Netanyahu and Trump, previously thought thought to be iron-clad. FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky tells us more.

Trump Tells BBC: “If I Tell Netanyahu to Do Something, He Does It” | BBC News

Jun 8, 2026 | The US President Donald Trump has told the BBC that if he tells Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to do something, he does it”.

The president was speaking to the BBC’s North America Editor Sarah Smith in a telephone interview, following the recent new round of hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Israel had launched attacks on Iran’s capital Tehran on Sunday, in apparent defiance of a demand from the White House to comply with the fragile ceasefire in force since April. Israel said the action was in retaliation for attacks by the Iranian backed Hezbollah militia group in Southern Lebanon. Iran responded to the airstrikes by firing multiple missiles at Israel, the first such attack since April.

Hours before Israel launched its attacks, President Trump had declared “I call the shots” and had instructed Benjamin Netanyahu to comply with the ceasefire. The President told the BBC that Israel had already launched its attacks, at the time when he had requested that Israel exercise restraint.

Donald Trump said he had persuaded Mr Netanyahu to return to the ceasefire, telling him: “We have to use sense. We’re very close to signing a very good deal” with Iran.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Smith, Wyre Davies and Jeremy Bowen.

Ana Kasparian Is Fired Up

She speaks of Israel’s treachery.
I have always been pro-Israel, especially because of how the Jews suffered in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, and how they have been persecuted throughout the ages. However, I am absolutely shocked that a people with such awful experience of pain and hardship are seemingly incapable of mercy and compassion for the people they now themselves persecute. This is utterly incomprehensible to me. — © Mark Alexander

Trump Reportedly Erupts at Netanyahu over Lebanon Attacks | DW News

June 3, 2026 | A major rift appears to be emerging between the United States and Israel. Reports say Donald Trump confronted Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli strikes on Lebanon, warning they could derail sensitive talks with Iran. While a partial de-escalation was announced, Israeli attacks have continued in the south - and officials say Beirut could still be targeted. We look at what this clash means for the region and whether Washington is losing influence over its key ally.

A Watershed Moment? | John Mearsheimer and Sir Max Hastings

Apr 24 2026 | Historians reserve the term “watershed” for those rare moments when events do not merely shock the established order but upend it. Think of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which hastened the end of the Cold War and ushered in an era of American unipolarity. Or the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, which ignited the global war on terror and culminated in the long, costly entanglements of the so-called forever wars.

In each case, those living through the moment could sense they were witnessing events whose consequences would extend far beyond the immediate crisis. The question now is whether the Iran war belongs in that category. On the world stage, many allies and partners increasingly worry that the United States as a friend is shrinking with extraordinary rapidity. If this is true, what does this mean for international affairs after the Iran war?

Guests are Sir Max Hastings, the British military historian, columnist and former newspaper editor, and John Mearsheimer, professor of political science from the University of Chicago.


To put it succinctly, Trump is a chump who is also off his chump! — © Mark Alexander

Hungary's Magyar Says He Would Carry Out ICC Warrant against Netanyahu

Péter Magyar enlarges on Hungary’s position.

The War Just Took a Dark Turn — Hormuz Is Not Stable | Prof Jeffrey Sachs

April 18, 2026

Bernie Sanders - Senate Showdown: Should the US Keep Funding Israel’s War?

Apr 17, 2026 | Bernie Sanders address two Senate votes that could determine whether the United States continues funding Israel’s military campaign under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, which killed over 1,200 Israelis and took hostages, Israel had the right to respond. But that response, critics argue, has violated international law. In Gaza, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of the territory destroyed, including homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. Severe blockades have caused widespread hunger. Violence has also escalated in the West Bank, where over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Michael Lambert: Trump's Puppet Master Exposed: The Netanyahu Iran War Plan

April 11, 2026

Netanyahu's wet dream: the destruction of Iran! — © Mark Alexander

War by Idiots — and We Pay the Price | Prof Jeffrey Sachs

April 1, 2026

‘Iran Won’t Lose War’: Jeffrey Sachs Predicts ‘Doom’ for Israel, US | Exposes Trump-Bibi Plot

Mar 31, 2026 | In this explosive interview, economist Jeffrey Sachs delivers a stark warning on the escalating Iran war, claiming we could be “days or weeks away” from a collapse of the global energy supply.

Calling Donald Trump a 'fool', Sachs argues that Iran is not going to surrender as Trump imagines, calling the conflict a major strategic miscalculation by the United States and Benjamin Netanyahu. He also frames the war as part of a larger geopolitical power struggle, with the US seeking dominance over the Gulf and Iran resisting falling in line, unlike other regional players.

Perhaps most crucially, Sachs says only major global powers like India, Russia, and China can step in to de-escalate the situation before the crisis spirals further.

The International Criminal Court Is about to Arrest Netanyahu for War Crimes | Jeffrey Sachs

March 27, 2026

Why Trump's War Has Made Iran More Dangerous - Interview with Danny Citrinowicz

Mar 26, 2026 | What did Trump and Israel get wrong in their war with Iran, and can the remaining elements of the regime hold out?

We speak to Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iran branch in the Research and Analysis Division in Israel Defense Intelligence and now Senior Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies.

Citrinowicz says one of Trump's "biggest mistakes" was assuming the regime would fall as soon as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed - when in fact it has left an even more emboldened and radicalised regime in his place.

He says what's left is a series of "bad options" for the US president and Israel.

Why Israel Wants a War with Iran (w/ Gideon Levy) | Chris Hedges Report

Mar 28, 2026 | Gideon Levy believes Israel’s rampant militarism has infected the minds of its entire population. Without an impossible reversal, the Jewish state's destructive warpath will rage on.

Netanyahu Panicked and Fled, Abandoning the People | Douglas Macgregor

March 24, 2026

Iran Warns…

…Trump and Netanyahu in no uncertain terms!

How Trump's Plan to End the Iran War Differs from Netanyahu | Richard Spencer

Mar 20, 2026 | “Even if Trump did voluntarily and wholeheartedly go into this war, they might have different visions of how to end it, and that’s becoming an important point.”

Amid growing signs the US and Israel are not aligned on their aims for the Iran war, The Times’s Richard Spencer lays out the “two very different ways” Trump and Netanyahu are campaigning to proceed with in the conflict.