Published: 13 April 2026
Last updated: 13 April 2026
The breakdown of negotiations between Iran and the US does not bode well for humanity, but it has been welcomed wholeheartedly by Benjamin Netanyahu, who hopes the delay may yet provide time for the ayatollahs to capitulate.
On February 28, shortly after launching an attack on Tehran, Netanyahu announced three war aims:
- Eliminate the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons
- Neutralise the threat of ballistic missiles, their launchers and storage locations
- Overthrow the Ayatollahs’ regime with the assistance of the Iranian people
It is clear that while tremendous damage has been meted out to Iran’s military machine, Netanyahu’s repeated claims of “total victory” are demonstrably false. None of the three aims have been realised. His military successes have been overshadowed by a glaring strategic failure.
As a result, the Israeli media now speaks of “Netanyahu’s wars” – from Gaza to Iran to Lebanon, where Israel’s enemies refuse to keep to the official script. Netanyahu’s response is to intensify pressure in the hope that the enemy will crack.
However, this has led to overreach such as the Israeli bombing of Qatar last autumn, which in turn forced a furious Trump to read the riot act to Netanyahu – and produced a ceasefire in Gaza.
Netanyahu's weakness is overreach
Overreach is Netanyahu’s Achilles Heel. The initial approach of the Israeli public is to overwhelmingly support the IDF in any war. Its support then decreases dramatically as the fighting gets bogged down, casualties rise and public fatigue sets in. Wise leaders and realistic generals in the past knew when to stop. They understood the meaning of containment.
Comments4
Rachel Sussman25 April at 02:43 am
This article and some of the comments seem to reflect that the West is loosing its compass, understanding, backbone and is sinking itself further into oblivion.
Like him or not, to say that Netanyahu says what US Presidents want to hear, is to forget his criticism of Obama, Biden, even Trump!
To call this ‘Netanyahu’s war’ is to forget that fanatic Regimes such as Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc. have one purpose for their existence – death to Jews, to Israel, to America and to Western values, that Israel’s and the West’s future survival are at stakes…
While to begin with it was understood, wars don’t always go as quick or as we want them to. With fanatic regimes, warfare is as much a psychological ‘game’ as a military one, and the West tragically seems to fail the former; an ‘unpopular’ war does not make it ‘wrong’; innocent victims are always tragic, as in every war, but hardly a reflection of ‘incompetence or indifference’ on the part of Israel or IDF. Actually, the ‘limited response’ to Hezbollah – who like Hamas set itself amid civilians – which the writer ‘complains’ about reflects the opposite!
Seems like clarity is lost all around!
Ramon Capel16 April at 05:49 pm
In the long term, Israel cannot survive by killing its neighbours’ children and grandchildren. This creates enemies for life. Historically, this has never worked. Israel is employing military tactics and ethics dating back to Roman times. This damages the image of the Jewish people and creates insecurity for everyone. But history teaches us that this cannot be sustained indefinitely. It pushes others to use the same force; others will acquire the atomic bomb – logically, it is their right to do so, given that Israel possesses it.
Mark Ian16 April at 04:05 am