President Donald Trump has signaled plans for an "endgame in the Iran war," infuriating a key ally, according to a report from The Atlantic published Thursday.
Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributor to The Atlantic, described how a Trump administration insider revealed that during a phone call on Wednesday with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump determined the next steps with Iran. The president reportedly told Netanyahu his plan to negotiate a "letter of intent" and that Iran would "formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations" focusing on Iran's nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz.
"The purpose and effect of such an agreement should be clear: The United States is walking away from the crisis," Kagan wrote. "Trump may launch another limited strike to look tough and satisfy the demands of the war’s supporters, but it would be a performative gesture. Endgame in this case is a euphemism for 'surrender.'"
Netanyahu, the source said, was not pleased.
"According to one U.S. official, Netanyahu’s 'hair was on fire' after the call with Trump—for good reason," Kagan wrote. "The Iran war may end up as the single most devastating blow to Israel’s security in its brief history. On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war. It will exercise leverage with dozens of the richest nations in the world, all of which will have an acute interest in keeping Iran happy. They will be unlikely to take Israel’s side in any conflict that it has with Tehran or with its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza, because Iran will have the means to punish them if they do. Israel will emerge more isolated than it has been at any time in its history—and not least from its only reliable protector, the United States."
