Yoni Ben Menachem Urges Israel to Act Against Iran if Trump Holds Back

Yoni Ben Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, urged Israel to act independently against Iran if U.S. President Donald Trump declines military action. In an interview published Wednesday evening, he argued that Iran’s unresolved nuclear program leaves the military option open despite Trump’s recent reservations about a strike. Ben Menachem said Israeli officials familiar with negotiations described a stalemate, particularly over the nuclear issue. He portrayed Trump as unpredictable and said the president sometimes contradicts himself deliberately. In Ben Menachem’s assessment, Republican midterm losses could make Trump reluctant to accept either an Iranian humiliation or an agreement worse than Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. He outlined two possibilities: an American strike, or Israel being left to address the nuclear threat. “We must not give up on this issue,” he said, arguing that Israel faced an existential threat. He called for independent Israeli action against the nuclear program or Iran’s leadership if Trump held back. Asked about a gradual reduction in American military aid, Ben Menachem defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to reach an arrangement before the midterms. He argued that the timing preempted Democratic political pressure and prevented opponents from claiming an achievement over Israel.