• #Israel escalates threats against Iran - Middle East News - Haaretz.com
    http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.802076

    But developments along the Syrian border have an even greater potential for drama. Though it’s doubtful Israel will attack Iranian bases in Syria the next morning, as Amidror’s words might seem to imply, there’s clearly a point of friction over which Netanyahu, for the first time, has been willing to publicly clash with the Trump administration.

    Israel’s suspicions about Washington’s conduct in the Syrian theater relate to several issues: Russian-American coordination, which Israel sees as being dictated mainly by Moscow; the emerging American plan to reduce its military presence in the region once the Islamic State is defeated in its Syrian capital of Raqqa; and Trump’s apparent acceptance of Iran’s growing role in Syria.

    The administration’s announcement, two years after the nuclear deal was signed with Iran, that Tehran is honoring its commitment to freeze its nuclear program also apparently made Netanyahu uncomfortable. Until then, President Donald Trump had sounded much more forceful and suspicious toward Iran than some of his top officials.