The United States is likely to attempt to exert even more pressure on Israel to terminate operations in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a dilemma with no easy way out regarding military operations in southern Lebanon. As Cyrus Schayegh, professor of International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, stated to Al Jazeera, Netanyahu is called upon to either continue the attacks and face the wrath of US President Donald Trump, or stop them and be confronted with the reaction of a segment of the Israeli public.
Washington may increase the pressure
According to Schayegh, the United States is likely to attempt to exert even more pressure on Israel to terminate operations in southern Lebanon. "The question is whether this will be enough for Iran. Exactly what Tehran considers sufficient remains to be seen," the analyst noted. The professor also argued that Washington could threaten more substantial measures of pressure against the Netanyahu government, utilizing economic and military tools. As he explained, these could include a gradual downgrading of certain aspects of military cooperation between the US and Israel over the long term.
The 1991 precedent
Schayegh reminded that the United States has used similar means of pressure in the past. "There is an entire set of tools that can be utilized, and I would like to remind you that in 1991, the United States did indeed use such leverage against Israel," he noted.
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