Amid the din of global speculation over US military build-up in the Middle East, Israel’s leaders have remained unusually silent.
Aside from some remarks in support of Iran’s anti-government protests this month, Israel’s prime minister has had little to say publicly about his superpower ally taking on his biggest enemy. His government has remained equally silent.
“It shows you the importance Netanyahu puts on this moment,” said Danny Citrinowicz, who served for 25 years in Israel’s Defence Intelligence, and is now senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
“For Netanyahu, being in this position where the US has so many forces in the Gulf, being so close to Trump attacking Iran, this is – for him – a golden moment in time that he cannot forgo.”
Asaf Cohen, a former deputy director of Israel’s signals intelligence unit, says there’s strategy in Israel’s silence too.
“The [Israeli] leadership believes we should allow the Americans to lead the way this time, because they are stronger, have more capabilities, and have much more legitimacy in the world.”
Benjamin Netanyahu has long seen Iran as the key threat facing Israel, and the biggest source of instability in the Middle East. His public silence does not signal a lack of private discussion with his key US ally.
This week, Israel’s military intelligence chief, Shlomi Binder, met US intelligence agencies in Washington. According to Israeli media, the discussion focused on possible targets in Iran.
Citrinowicz believes Netanyahu is privately pushing the US towards maximalist strikes aimed at regime change in Iran, and that when Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump to hold back earlier this month, he says, it was because he viewed the planned US attack as “too small”.
Netanyahu has previously urged Iranians to “stand up” to their regime, in an interview with Fox News last year.
US president Donald Trump is currently considering a range of actions against Iran – they are reported to include both limited symbolic strikes and full-blown regime change. In public, he has alternated military threats with the offer of fresh negotiations.
While many US allies are warning that trying to unseat Iran’s leadership carries huge risks for the region, many in Israel see potential benefits for their security.
By changing the regime in Tehran, Israel would hope to end the threat from Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the possibility that it would one day acquire nuclear weapons too.
It would also further weaken Iran’s proxy militia around the region, including Hezbollah, which still has up to 25,000 missiles and rockets across the border in Lebanon according to Israel’s Alma research institute.
In contrast, some Israeli lawmakers believe a limited strike, or even a new deal with Iran, could carry bigger risks for Israel’s security by leaving the regime in place.
“When you deal with total evil, you don’t act limited,” said Moshe Tur-Paz, a member of the Yesh Atid opposition party who sits on the Defence Committee of Israel’s parliament.
“There’s a consensus that Israel should act much stronger and so should the Western world. When it comes to our worst enemies like Iran, there are no big differences. We all understand the threat.”
Another round of conflict that left the regime intact would not be worth the price paid in Iran’s retaliation, many say.
During the 12-day war last year, when Israel and the US attacked Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile sites, Iran fired back hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israeli towns and cities. Some evaded Israel’s vaunted air-defences, slamming into apartment blocks in Tel Aviv and killing at least 28 people.
