Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
Speaking to AnewZ from Singapore, Dorsey said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes only military action and potentially regime change can secure Israel’s long-term objectives vis-à-vis Iran.
“Netanyahu wants - his preference and his belief is - that only military action and regime change will allow Israel to achieve its goals with regard to Iran,” Dorsey said.
According to Dorsey, that position contrasts with the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is seeking a negotiated solution, even while maintaining the option of force.
“That’s clearly something that Trump does not necessarily share,” Dorsey said, noting that the U.S. president has emphasised for some time his desire for a diplomatic agreement. At the same time, Trump is keeping “the stick” of a significant U.S. military presence in the Middle East should he decide to take military action.
Dorsey argued that the limited progress achieved during talks in Oman last week (6 February) has sharpened questions about Washington’s next move, particularly after Trump warned of serious consequences if Iran fails to respond to U.S. demands.
“It depends on what Trump defines as a successful negotiation,” Dorsey said. “The first question is: what are they negotiating about?”
In Dorsey’s assessment, the scope of negotiations will determine whether diplomacy has room to succeed.
“If it is just the nuclear issue, then there is wiggle room,” he said, arguing that compromise may be possible on key technical questions such as whether Iran can enrich uranium on its own territory and under what conditions it could retain previously enriched material.
However, Dorsey cautioned that if negotiations expand to include ballistic missiles and Iran’s network of non-state allies, the process becomes significantly more complicated.
“If the negotiations are being expanded to include particularly the issue of ballistic missiles, that becomes much more difficult,” he said.
The expert explained that Iran’s conventional military capabilities are limited, making missiles and allied armed groups central to its deterrence strategy.
“Iran’s conventional military forces do not have an air force worth mentioning, do not have a navy worth mentioning,” he said, “The two key pillars of Iran’s defence strategy and deterrence strategy are ballistic missiles and non-state allies.”
According to Dorsey, the weakening of some of those allies over more than two years of conflict in the Middle East, particularly Hezbollah, has only increased the importance of ballistic missiles within Iran’s strategic calculus.
While Yemen’s Houthis remain operational, he suggested that Tehran’s reliance on missile capabilities has grown as other pillars of its regional posture have come under strain.
In Dorsey’s view, this strategic reality places President Trump in a delicate position. Limiting negotiations to the nuclear file could create diplomatic flexibility, while broadening the agenda to include missiles and regional proxies would strike at the heart of Iran’s deterrence doctrine.
Ultimately, Dorsey suggested that the trajectory of U.S.-Iran diplomacy will depend on how President Trump balances pressure with pragmatism, and on whether Washington and Tel Aviv can reconcile their differing visions of how to address the Iranian challenge.
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President Donald Trump said Iran is keen to reach a deal with the United States, claiming Washington had paused engagement to allow funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
West Africa's Al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on military positions in Mali on Saturday and said it had seized control of at least three of them.
Morocco booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a convincing 3-0 victory over Canada, ending the co-host's historic run in the tournament.
Kyrgyzstan’s ex-second in command, Kamchybek Tashiev, has been convicted of plotting to overthrow the country’s President Sadyr Japarov. Tashiev and Japarov had ruled the Central Asian nation in tandem since 2020, until the former was unexpectedly ousted in February.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Niño, warning the climate pattern is likely to drive higher global temperatures and intensify extreme weather in the months ahead.
India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed sensitive documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, marking the government's first public comments on the incident.
International politicians and religious leaders have paid respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei throughout the day, ahead of his six day funeral ceremony which begins on Saturday. His casket is currently on display at the Iman Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran.
Germany has requested urgent talks with China's ambassador following reports that Chinese authorities trained Russian soldiers, adding fresh strain to relations between Beijing and Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump said Iran is keen to reach a deal with the United States, claiming Washington had paused engagement to allow funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
West Africa's Al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on military positions in Mali on Saturday and said it had seized control of at least three of them.
Russia's Defence Ministry has said its forces are clearing the town of Lyman in Donetsk of Ukrainian forces, Moscow's state news agency Tass reported. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least six people across three Ukrainian regions on Friday, regional officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use next week's NATO summit in Ankara to advance his push for greater European responsibility in security, with a bilateral meeting planned with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Paris seeks closer coordination with key allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying Russia and the United States share a special responsibility for maintaining global security as the world's two largest nuclear powers.
China said on Saturday it had launched a coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which accused Beijing of illegally expanding its authority and undermining regional stability.
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