Trump is 'Netanyahu's poodle': Historian Avi Shlaim on Iran war

In an exclusive interview with India Today's Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai, historian and Oxford University Professor Avi Shlaim describes the ongoing Iran conflict as 'Netanyahu's war', asserting that 'Trump is Netanyahu's poodle'. Shlaim argues that Netanyahu has spent 40 years advocating for joint American-Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and Trump is the first American president to support this plan. He notes that 92 per cent of Jewish Israelis currently support the war, but warns that both leaders underestimated Iran's capacity to resist. Shlaim criticises Israel's targeted assassination policy as unlawful and ineffective, pointing out that after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's assassination, his more hardline son took over. He contends that Netanyahu's goal extends beyond regime change to complete regime collapse and the establishment of 'greater Israel' as the dominant regional power. Shlaim warns that Netanyahu is undermining Israel's long-term security by eroding American support through military excesses in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, whilst both Trump and Netanyahu lack exit strategies from the conflict.