Akshay DidwaniyaIsrael finds itself locked out of critical US-Iran negotiations, scrambling to piece together intelligence through back-channel regional contacts a stunning demotion that could cost Netanyahu at the ballot box.
Israel Left in the Dark as Washington Deals Directly with Tehran
The Trump administration has effectively pushed Israel to the sidelines in ongoing negotiations with Iran leaving Israeli leaders with almost no direct access to what Washington and Tehran are actually discussing. According to unnamed Israeli officials, Israel has been forced to gather scraps of intelligence through regional leaders and diplomats, as well as its own surveillance operations inside Iran.
“The Trump administration has so thoroughly sidelined Israel from the process that its leaders have been almost completely cut off from the ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran. Starved of information from their closest ally, Israelis have been forced to piece together what they can about the Washington-Tehran discussions through their contacts with regional leaders and diplomats and through their own surveillance inside Iran.”
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Netanyahu Goes from Co-Pilot to Passenger
Unnamed American officials told the newspaper that Trump views Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a military partner but not as an inner-circle player in diplomacy with Iran. Where Netanyahu once sat comfortably as “Trump’s co-pilot” in the confrontation with Tehran, he has now been downgraded to merely a “passenger.”
“Israel has found itself in a position where it has been demoted from an equal partner to something more like an American military subcontractor” that is how the publication sizes up the situation. The report adds that this shift may carry serious long-term consequences for Israel. It also marks what the paper calls a “humiliating blow” for Netanyahu who faces a bruising re-election fight later this year.
The War That Started It All
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory on February 28, killing more than 3,000 people in what became a devastating military campaign. Washington and Tehran then announced a ceasefire on April 8. Subsequent talks held in Islamabad collapsed without agreement. No fresh military hostilities have been reported since but the United States has launched a naval blockade of Iranian ports, keeping the pressure firmly on Tehran.
Mayur Mohta
Pratik Agrawal
Aditya Didwaniya
