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The World

Israel’s War

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was instrumental in taking the U.S. to war with Iran. Now, he is trying to prolong the fighting.

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By

Katrin Bennhold

I’m the host of The World.

April 12, 2026,

5:03 p.m. ET

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A two-week cease-fire between the United States and Iran isn’t off to a great start. Marathon talks in Pakistan over the weekend resulted in no breakthrough. They prompted yet another frustrated Trump post announcing that the U.S. would now blockade the Strait of Hormuz. And Israel, whose war in Lebanon almost derailed the talks, continued bombing.

President Trump’s main leverage in the talks is the threat of resuming the war, which he edged toward yesterday with his blockade announcement. But that’s also not a particularly viable political choice — and the Iranians know it.

The Israelis know it, too. Today I write about how Israel, which was instrumental in taking the U.S. to war with Iran, is still trying to prolong the fighting.

Image

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a visit to Dimona, Israel, last month.

Credit...

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Israel’s war

On Feb. 11, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, gave Donald Trump the hard sell on going to war in Iran.

According to

reporting by my colleagues Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan

, Netanyahu told the president that Iran was ripe for regime change, that a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign could destroy the missile program, that the Israeli intelligence service would help foment a popular rebellion — that victory was a near-certainty.

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