December 29: Options for ‘Mowing the Lawn’ in Iran.

Gordon Lubold of NBC News reported on December 20 what is expected to happen when Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago on December 29. That has raised the hackles of Trita Parsi, who responded immediately on Substack, 'Netanyahu is back demanding more war with Iran'.

Lubold also reported (new for me): ‘Prior to the strikes in June, the Israelis had presented Trump with four options for military action.... Israeli officials laid out the options on a coffee table in the Oval Office... One involved Israel going it alone, another included limited U.S. support, a third was the U.S. and Israel conducting joint operations against Iran, and a fourth had the U.S. conducting the operation on its own... Ultimately Trump decided to approve a joint operation. … Netanyahu may present Trump with a similar set of options during their [December 29] Mar-a-Lago meeting.’

What would this ‘mowing the lawn’ focus on? NBC reports: ‘Iran’s efforts to rebuild facilities where they produce the ballistic missiles and to repair its crippled air defense systems.’ This led Parsi to write: ‘Israel’s messaging is no longer focused on the nuclear program but rather on Iran’s ballistic missile program.’

Parsi ends with: ‘If Trump caves to Netanyahu once more, the Israeli Prime Minister will be back in another six months with another war plan for Americans to give their blood and tax dollars to. This will go on endlessly until Trump decides to end it. He should end it on December 29.’

What about Witkoff-Araghchi negotiations on a new nuclear deal? I recall what Alan Pino of the Atlantic Council wrote in June: ‘a nuclear deal seems remote—but an Iranian negotiating ploy to try to ensure regime survival could be in the cards.’ In any case, Witkoff’s full agenda starts with Gaza and Ukraine, so don’t hold your breath waiting for him to focus on Iran. But that is part of what is behind the call for near-term military action that Netanyahu will ask Trump to join on December 29.

We should have our fingers crossed on December 29.

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