With Trump, Netanyahu’s got his work cut out for him – POLITICO

Still, all that may not be enough to win Trump’s support for targeting Iran’s leadership, or to try to crash the regime in Tehran. “Trump is still no fan of Bibi,” said a Washington lobbyist, granted anonymity in order to speak freely.

“Bibi’s not exactly succeeded yet to the point where he’s going to get everything he wants. Trump’s not going to give him a blank check. If that’s what Bibi expects, I think he’s going to be disappointed, and he’s going to have to recalibrate his approach because Trump wants to end the fighting in the Middle East almost as much as he does in Ukraine.”

But Netanyahu has grown increasingly emboldened, thinking about recasting the entire region — quite the opposite of the Biden administration, which has repeatedly pushed for winding down the war in Gaza, raised humanitarian concerns and has grown anxious over the expansion of the offensive in Lebanon.

Rather, Netanyahu believes he now has a once-in-a-generation chance to secure a “total victory” against Israel’s foes and establish a safe security environment for decades to come. That means continuing the offensive in Gaza to finish Hamas for good, pursuing Hezbollah so that it’s uprooted from Lebanon, as well as getting at the ultimate enemy — Iran.

While all this has the added benefit of possibly redeeming him in the eyes of Israelis who hold him responsible for the security lapses that allowed the Oct. 7 massacre to happen, his challenge now is to convince Trump of his grand strategy, and exactly how it can be accomplished without getting the U.S. ensnared in a “forever war.”

In his first term, Trump took a hardline on Iran-backed militias and, of course, he isn’t hesitant to act — hence the assassination of legendary Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. He also diverged from Biden on what Israel should and should not be targeting in a retaliatory strike on Iran last month — namely, Iran’s nuclear program. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons,” he said at a campaign rally in North Carolina. “Hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later.”