In a speech at Haifa University, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro insisted that despite diplomatic progress made in recent weeks, the United States retains the option of attacking Iran militarily.
While Shapiro reiterated US promises not to reach a “bad deal,” his speech appeared aimed at convincing Israelis that the prospect of no deal, and a war instead, was still realistic.
That’s of course in keeping with the position of the Netanyahu government, which has opposed any diplomacy with Iran and is treating the concept of a “bad deal” as the same as any deal at all.
But other Israelis don’t appear nearly so on board with war for war’s sake, and attempts to play up US bellicosity in tandem with diplomatic talks, indeed on the same day the latest round of talks began, is raising questions about the Obama Administration’s sincerity in either position.
