American writer Thomas Friedman said that based on his experience covering events in the Middle East, the war that Israel is waging against Iran, the Palestinian Hamas movement, and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement could soon drag the United States into it.

Friedman, who is known for his full support for Israel, added that things have never been clearer than they are now. Although one of the reasons for Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7 was the “reckless” expansion of settlements, the “brutal” treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and the attacks on Islamic religious sites in Jerusalem, the other reason for the attack was that it was also part of a broader Iranian campaign aimed at pushing the United States out of the Middle East and cornering its allies.

He warned that if the current conflict between Israel and Iran and what he described as its "proxies" turns into a large-scale war that Israel may not be able to fight alone for a long time, then US President Joe Biden may have to make the most difficult fateful decision of his presidency about whether to enter a war with Iran in support of Israel, and then eliminate its nuclear program, which constitutes the "cornerstone" of Tehran's strategic network in the region.

Beware of Netanyahu

Friedman claims in his article in the New York Times that Iran has established this network to replace the United States as the strongest party in the Middle East, and to make Israel "bleed to death as a result of the wounds that its proxies will inflict on it" in the region.

Therefore, the United States must - in the writer's opinion - always be wary of what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to do.

Friedman cited a question in an article by former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinhas in Haaretz on Thursday: Why did Netanyahu choose to assassinate Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the midst of “sensitive” prisoner swap negotiations?

Was the reason to show that Israel is capable of doing so, or is it, according to Pinhas, “deliberately pushing things toward escalation in the hope that escalating the conflict with Iran will drag the United States into war, further distancing Netanyahu from the October 7 disaster for which the prime minister has not been held accountable to this day?”

What will Netanyahu do?

Friedman admitted that he would not trust Netanyahu “for a second” to claim that he puts the interests of the United States above his own political salvation, and that he would not even put Israel’s interests before his own.

Friedman explained that Biden, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have “quietly and effectively” built a broad network of alliances in recent years to contain China and Iran.

The other most important gathering - in Friedman's view - is the economic corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe, which is designed to enhance trade relations and facilitate the flow of energy supplies between the European Union and India. The American writer went on to say that things have become clear to him as the sun, but what is not at all clear - according to him - is what Netanyahu will do, and which interests will he serve? Is it his personal interest, or America's interests, or Iran's interests?

Source: New York Times