Israel’s decision to attack Iran after Trump said publicly he would urge Netanyahu not to retaliate highlights an “asymmetry” in the power dynamics between the U.S. and Israel, one expert told NBC News this morning.
“There’s an asymmetry in these dynamics where obviously Israel is dependent and beholden to the United States, but, you know, simultaneous to that, Netanyahu is thinking about his own political career,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said in a phone interview.
“This is election year, and from a domestic and Israeli security perspective, he has to respond,” Vakil said of Netanyahu. “If he doesn’t, he looks like a proxy of the United States and that won’t play out well for him personally.”
Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv-based national security-focused think tank, said an Israeli response should have been expected.
That Iran launched its strikes in retaliation for Israel’s actions in Lebanon was “something that Israel will not tolerate,” Michael said. He added that despite Trump’s comments, it was important to look to the president’s actions, rather than his words, adding that even if Trump is “not very happy” about Israel’s response, he was likely to tolerate it.