Trump can shout - but it's clear Israel isn't listening

So now we know why America partially evacuated some of its embassies in the Middle East with such haste. It knew very well what was coming: a massive pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and key military personnel.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Assassinating Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guard, a political as well as a military force, is a symbol and a warning to the ayatollahs of what damage Israel can inflict on them if it so wishes. It is also – or should be – a similar symbol and a warning to the United States of what Benjamin Netanyahu is capable of when he senses his domestic political purposes are best served. He will act, in the words of the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, “unilaterally”.

To borrow a phrase, Netanyahu is an “Israel First” politician.

Did he defy Donald Trump? Not to the extent of blindsiding him completely. The Israeli prime minister did the American president the courtesy of giving him some warning, so that American diplomatic personnel could get out of the area in the highly likely event of retaliation by Iran and its terrorist allies.

No matter what Washington says, they will suspect the president of not only knowing about the Israeli onslaughts but actively approving and assisting in them. Netanyahu obviously knew American lives would be endangered – hence the warning – and went ahead anyway.

It seems highly improbable Trump did encourage Israel to act, and would likely have preferred that Netanyahu not do so. Trump has sufficient sympathy for the Israelis, and frustration with Iran, to prevent him from trying to veto the attacks, but maybe sensed that whatever he said, Netanyahu might have gone ahead anyway, in some form.