BAlthough the ceasefire that came into force on Wednesday, November 27 between his country and Hezbollah is respected, suggesting the possibility that the weapons will fall silent for a long time in Lebanon, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, does not promise peace, but a continuation, even an intensification of the war on a regional scale. He is accustomed to describing the conflict in which Israel has been engaged since October 7 as “war of redemption”which he describes as being conducted on « sept fronts ».
During his speech announcing the ceasefire on Tuesday evening, he reviewed them again, promising to commit to them forcefully. These “fronts” range from Yemen to Syria and from Gaza to Iran, via the West Bank, Lebanon and Iraq. And, according to Benjamin Netanyahu, the most important of them is that which opposes the Hebrew State to the Islamic Republic, the “octopus”as he calls it.
Mairav Zonszein, an Israel specialist at the International Crisis Group think tank, notes that talk of a confrontation with Tehran was “in the heart” of the announcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon. “This threat has always been my top priority, declared the Prime Minister, and this is even more the case today, when you hear Iranian leaders repeatedly state their intention to finish developing nuclear weapons. Eliminating this threat constitutes the most important mission to preserve the existence and future of the State of Israel. »
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This constitutes both a program and a form of obsession, but also a form of rhetoric. “He always comes to talk about Iran, Iran is his big subject. The context is now that of Donald Trump's coming to power [le président élu sera investi le 20 janvier à Washington]. This is a signal addressed to Trump, meaning that he is ready to put maximum pressure on Tehran, in order to then see how far he wants to go on this ground. » Ultimately, it is therefore, in part, a matter of prepositioning ourselves to be ready to obtain the favors of the new American administration, to be ready for a long regional conflict, while avoiding appearing as a simple go-ahead. -war.
A pole extended to the extreme right
The double message, flirting with contradiction, seems to have been received by the Trump team in training. Mike Waltz, chosen for the post of national security advisor, declared this on X: “I am happy to see concrete steps being taken towards de-escalation in the Middle East. But let's be clear: the Iranian regime is at the root of the chaos and terror sown across the region. We will not tolerate a status quo in the face of its action in favor of terrorism. »
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