Media: Netanyahu Explains Three Scenarios Regarding Iran to Trump

On July 29, Xinhua News Agency reported from Jerusalem (reporters Pang Xinyi and Wang Zhuolun) that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently proposed "three scenarios" regarding the situation with Iran during his meeting with U.S. President Trump, but did not mention any "specific strategy." Netanyahu also expressed a desire to gradually reduce U.S. assistance during his meetings with senior American officials.

The report cited an Israeli official as saying that the "three scenarios" mentioned by Netanyahu include: first, reaching a diplomatic agreement with Iran; second, a less clear situation where no agreement is reached and the U.S. continues to try to pressure Iran through economic sanctions, but does not initiate war again; third, launching a large-scale offensive against Iran again.

The report stated that this Israeli official denied that Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. aimed to persuade Trump to resume strikes against Iran. The official said that Netanyahu did not indicate to Trump which scenario he preferred, and the two discussed all scenarios in detail along with their respective "pros and cons." The report also mentioned that Israel successfully persuaded the U.S. earlier this year to jointly conduct large-scale military operations against Iran, but many of the predicted outcomes at that time "did not materialize."

According to another report from the Israel Times on the same day, Netanyahu proposed on the 28th during a meeting with U.S. Vice President Pence and U.S. Presidential Envoy Friedkin that he "hopes to gradually reduce U.S. assistance to Israel within 10 years." The report stated that Netanyahu plans to gradually eliminate the approximately $3.3 billion in "Foreign Military Financing" provided by the U.S., while retaining $500 million in missile defense assistance each year.

Netanyahu also discussed with senior U.S. officials the establishment of a joint fund of about $16 billion for the development of new weapon systems. Israel also plans to develop its own fighter jets within 10 years.

The report cited Israeli officials as saying that, given the "deteriorating views of Israel among both U.S. political parties," Netanyahu realizes the necessity of gradually reducing U.S. assistance, as Israel does not want its future security situation to depend on the political climate in the U.S.