Trump's Support for Netanyahu Linked to Secret Iran Plan, Expert Claims
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Professor Zaki Shalom posits that President Trump's strong public backing of Prime Minister Netanyahu is driven by a secret joint plan to counter Iran. Shalom suggests Trump views Netanyahu as essential for this strategy and has implicitly warned Israeli voters that electing Netanyahu is crucial for continued US cooperation against Iran. This unprecedented presidential intervention in a foreign election, according to Shalom, is comparable to historical secret agreements between leaders, and its full implications may only be understood later.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Professor Zaki Shalom claims Trump's support for Netanyahu is tied to a secret joint plan against Iran.
- Shalom interprets Trump's endorsement as a warning to Israeli voters about facing Iran alone without Netanyahu.
- The expert calls the US president's public intervention in Israeli elections an unprecedented and exceptional event.
- Shalom likens the current secret understandings between Trump and Netanyahu to historical covert agreements.
- He suggests Trump needs Netanyahu for a broader regional plan beyond just military action against Iran.
Professor Zaki Shalom believes that President Donald Trump's unusual public support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections stems from a joint, secret plan concerning Iran and the future of the Middle East. Shalom, from the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, suggests Trump views Netanyahu as a crucial partner for executing this plan, and that understandings reached during their private meetings are the reason for Trump's overt intervention in the Israeli election campaign.
Shalom stated that the Iranian issue was central to Trump's agenda, interpreting the president's actions as a clear message to Israeli voters: "If you don't elect Netanyahu, you will stand alone against Iran." He argues that Trump is signaling that continued security and political cooperation on Iran is contingent on Netanyahu remaining in office. This level of public endorsement by a US president for a candidate in another country's election is highly unusual, according to Shalom, who could find no precedent for such a direct and unequivocal statement.
While Trump had previously stated he would not interfere in the elections, Shalom speculates that Netanyahu may not have been privy to the planned announcement. He emphasizes that the relationship and private discussions between the two leaders are key, suggesting their eight meetings, many of them one-on-one, may have been used to forge strategic understandings. "I have no doubt they hatched some kind of plan on the Iranian issue and regarding the Middle East, and Trump cannot share it with anyone else. Therefore, he needs Netanyahu for this project. He simply has no other choice," Shalom asserted.
Shalom likens the current situation to historical instances of secret understandings between leaders, such as Israel's contacts with King Abdullah of Jordan in 1948 and the secret agreement between Israel, Britain, and France before the 1956 Sinai Campaign. He calls these "conspiracies" in the sense of secret political understandings, suggesting the Trump-Netanyahu relationship could be a third such case, the nature of which may only become clear in hindsight.
Regarding potential repercussions for Trump within the US, Shalom believes the American public will likely perceive the move as a strategic calculation rather than personal or ideological support for Netanyahu. However, he acknowledges the possibility that if Netanyahu is not re-elected, Trump might follow through on his implied threat and leave Israel to face Iran alone. Yet, Shalom also notes Trump's history of making strong threats that are not always followed through, suggesting that even without Netanyahu, Trump would find a way to cooperate with a new Israeli government.
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