Whose War?

What does the United States want to achieve in its nearly three-week war on Iran? What does Israel? At the start of the conflict, the two countries seemed to share similar goals: topple the leader, enfeeble the military and forever terminate the nuclear program.

Now, though, the allies seem to be diverging, my colleague Steven Erlanger reports. For all the rhetoric we remember about America First, the United States remains a global superpower concerned about the worldwide supply of oil and the safety of its allies around the Persian Gulf. Iran does not pose an existential threat to Washington, and America’s leaders don’t want their voters impoverishing themselves at the gas pump.

Israel, however, is a regional power. Its concerns are narrower. Put simply, it wants to cripple a country that has sworn itself to Israel’s destruction. So it keeps killing officials in Tehran, grinding down the government, blowing up oil facilities and striking Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah. “It sees an extraordinary opportunity to clobber Iran with American help, and it is likely to want to continue the war longer than President Trump,” Steve writes.

The Islamic Republic has retaliated against energy targets in the Gulf and sent global oil and gas prices soaring. If it keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed and induces a global recession, well, that’s not Israel’s worry, analysts say. “They have a set of strategic objectives and believe they are succeeding, and they’re not as price sensitive as the White House,” one Iran expert told Steve. “They are more willing to weather the storm and try to finish the job.”