NY Times – Middle East: Israel-US cooperation will determine escalation – 2024-10-03 22:30:33

The situation in the Middle East has escalated and fears of expansion beyond the Gaza Strip have been confirmed. After the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, the Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, and yesterday, Tuesday, October 1, Iran’s missile attack on Israel, a warlike conflict reminiscent of the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 is taking place in the region, as they describe the NY Times.

The main questions that arise, according to the same source, are whether there will be further escalation and whether the US is going to get involved more directly.

The last few days have been a turning point. Since the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the US government has moved from simple warnings to trying to resolve the “inflammable situation”.

Officials have defended Israel’s right to respond to Iranian fire, as noted in the same article, but advise against a direct attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, as that could lead to an out-of-control conflict.

Netanyahu and Biden will determine the fate of the Middle East

Joe Biden was initially trying to warn the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about these back-to-back attacks. However, even the great American forces were unable to prevent it.

“We have been in a regional war since October 7, and that war is now total,” Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States/historian and one of the country’s most extreme diplomats, told the New York newspaper.

“We are in a war for our national survival,” he added. While at the same time he noted that it is a “duty” for the nation that was “created after the Holocaust”.

It remains unknown how Benjamin Netanyahu interprets this existential mission. This is, as pointed out, because he is weighing more on how he will strike back at Iran, rather than whether he should strike back.

Biden had started to warn Israel immediately after the attack of October 7, 2023. In fact, he himself, two weeks later, had visited the country to show his support.

However, then followed a number of hostilities by Israel, the complete “annihilation” of the Gaza Strip, the land invasion of the region, with which the American president was opposed.

Still, lately Israeli attacks have increased dramatically, from the hijacking of Lebanese communication gadgets, the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, to the slaughter of much of Hezbollah’s leadership.

For far-right critics of Joe Biden, all of this is the result of American reluctance, or reluctance, to support its ally, Israel. While for his critics on the left, it is the failure to influence the Israeli government, even with the threat of withholding American weapons.

Israel’s response to guided Iran

For most Israelis, the escalation was inevitable. While it is taken for granted, as the “New York Times” underlines, that Israel has the “blessing” of the USA for retaliation.

“We’ve made it clear that there will be consequences, serious consequences, for this attack and we will work with Israel on that,” Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said after an emergency meeting at the White House, which followed from the Iranian attack.

He noted that extensive consultations are also being held with the Prime Minister’s office in order to plan the appropriate response.

Of course, on the other hand, the American president and the Israeli prime minister had little communication after the attacks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. However, after the attack by Iran, the US strategy changed.

All these behind-the-scenes negotiations are, according to the Tims columnist, going to turn into a resounding message to Iran.