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A New York Times report and remarks by former Secretary of State John Kerry have shed new light on the events leading up to the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28. According to these accounts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a plan for military action to President Donald Trump during a meeting in mid-February, and Trump agreed, a decision previous US presidents had declined to make.

The war, which was brought to a tentative end with a ceasefire agreement, aimed to curb Iran's regional power and dismantle its nuclear program. As of the latest reports, Iranian strikes on US interests in Gulf nations resulted in the deaths of 13 US military service members.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post, in two separate articles, covered the story from different angles. One article focused on Kerry's interview, where he criticized Trump's decision and Netanyahu's role. The other was based on the New York Times report, which provided a detailed account of the meeting where Netanyahu made a 'hard sell' for attacking Iran.

Both articles attributed their information to the New York Times report and Kerry's interview. The Post's coverage included direct quotes from Kerry and US officials, but the framing differed slightly: one emphasized Kerry's criticism, while the other aimed for a more informative tone, though both expressed critical undertones about the decision-making process.

Key Claims

Several key claims emerge from the reports, though some come from single sources and are not independently verified:

  • Netanyahu proposed a war with Iran to previous US presidents, including George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, all of whom refused, before Trump agreed. This claim was made by Kerry in an interview and is not corroborated by other sources.
  • Netanyahu made a four-point pitch to Trump, including killing the leadership, inciting regime change, and destroying the military, according to Kerry, citing the New York Times article.
  • The meeting in mid-February included various US and Israeli officials, such as Mossad director David Barnea, as reported by the New York Times.
  • Netanyahu presented options for a new Iranian leader, including Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, according to the New York Times.
  • The New York Times report quoted US officials as saying the first two objectives of Netanyahu's plan were considered reasonable, but the third and fourth were 'detached from reality.'
  • Kerry also claimed that Trump walked away from the prior agreement with Iran 'not for substantive reasons, but because president Obama did it,' a claim that has not been independently verified.

Perspectives

Kerry's View

John Kerry, a key architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, argued that Trump's decision to strike Iran came after Netanyahu's persuasion, and that the US walked away from the agreement without diplomatic engagement. He emphasized that there was no imminent threat from Iran, and the attack has undermined trust in the United States.

New York Times Report's View

The New York Times report, as summarized by the Jerusalem Post, depicted Netanyahu as making a 'hard sell' for war, with detailed plans that some US officials found unrealistic. The report suggests Netanyahu's influence over Trump was decisive.

Official US-Israeli View

The official narrative, as presented by Trump and Netanyahu at the launch of the war, was that the action was necessary to curb Iran's regional power and dismantle its nuclear program, with the goal of creating conditions for regime change. No statements from US or Israeli officials contradicting the reports were included in the available material.

Iran's View

Iran's perspective is not covered in the provided sources, but the Iranian media have reported conflicting accounts on the status of the Strait of Hormuz, indicating the region's instability. No direct Iranian response to the claims about Netanyahu's role has been included.

Conclusion

The available reports provide a coherent picture of events, but many details rely on a single source (the New York Times) or on Kerry's personal account. The claim about previous presidential refusals is sourced to Kerry alone. As is often the case in such high-stakes geopolitics, the full record may not emerge for years, but these reports offer a window into how the decision to go to war was made.