The myth of an invincible Israel has collapsed. Israel demonstrated terrible inadequacy against Iran's missiles, leading US Vice President J.D. Vance to declare that 20% of northern Israeli cities had been demolished. Israel relies on the military power of the Americans; essentially, with the backing of the US, they appear strong without actually being so.
Israel refuses to recognize the depth of its defeat
Israel refuses to recognize the depth of its defeat—caused by the fact that the attack on Iran that it provoked did not result in regime change, but in an agreement between the US and Iran. Israel remains certain it can convince Donald Trump to return to the battlefield. How? By continuing to bomb Lebanon, thereby interrupting the ceremony in Switzerland where the US Vice President and the President of the Iranian Parliament were supposed to meet. However, the teams from the US and Iran eventually reached Switzerland, and negotiations are ongoing.
Israel's pointless strategies
But this is pointless—the agreement has already entered into force, the Strait of Hormuz has opened, and US-Iran negotiations have begun. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is only worsening his own situation—not just his own, but his country's as well. The refusal to acknowledge reality ("We dragged the US into a war, we failed to achieve our goals, and now the Americans are stepping aside and we cannot fight alone") is a sign of the impasse into which Israel has been led.
Netanyahu is dangerous
After October 7, 2023, he decided to launch a general offensive on all fronts—occupying Gaza and parts of Syrian territory, occupying southern Lebanon, and, together with the Americans, attacking Iran. Victory over Iran (via regime change) was supposed to be the crowning achievement of Netanyahu's triumph: it would have shown the entire world that Israel is a superpower capable of overthrowing a major regional power. Everyone would have been terrified by the occupation of Syrian and Lebanese territories and would have closed their eyes to the occupation of most of Gaza and the Israeli crimes there.
The plan failed
That is how Netanyahu had imagined it all, but as soon as the final point of the plan failed, everything collapsed. Iran remained steadfast—and now something must be done about Lebanon, then about the occupied Syrian territories, and, ultimately, it will all end in Gaza. Israel will be held responsible for everything, and not just by the Islamic world, but by the entire international community. Because Israel's reputation has effectively been destroyed over the last three years, exactly where it still enjoyed a relative majority of support—in the West. Europe will demand the withdrawal of troops from Lebanon and Gaza and an end to terrorism in the West Bank, but Israel categorically refuses to do so.
The most aggressive and dangerous country in the world... Israel
In the US, public opinion has experienced a historical turning point: for the first time, the majority condemns Israel (and this is especially true for younger generations), which has now lost the ability to exploit the Holocaust to speculate about its security. After the genocide in Gaza and the attack on Iran, Israel has a persistent reputation as the most aggressive and dangerous country in the world (whether behind the US or alongside it—depending on how one views these two states: as a symbiotic alliance or as separate entities). It has no allies—except for the US, and even the US, having been disappointed by Iran, increasingly sees Israel as a problem rather than a close partner. J.D. Vance recently stated that Israel is killing innocent people in Beirut and that "a country of 10 million people cannot solve every security problem just by killing everyone in its path." Vance also speculated that perhaps ("I don't know, that's why I haven't spoken with Netanyahu about this") Israel wants to turn Iran into something like Libya, a collapsing state. And he stated directly that this would not be beneficial for the United States. In other words, the United States does not want to continue playing along with Israel's plan—and they are saying it openly in public. And Vance himself points out that two-thirds of the weapons Israel used during the war with Lebanon were not only assembled in the United States but were also paid for with American money—so, you know your place.
How does Israel react to this? Besides bombing Lebanon?
Israel blames Trump for everything: while he was recently the most respected president, his approval ratings have now collapsed. This is no surprise, as Israeli society has the illusion that "we are the strongest and America is at our disposal." Hence the "betrayal" of Trump: how dare he make a deal with Iran and then demand that we stop in Lebanon?
The US remained Israel's only ally... the Israeli government provokes
Vance, by the way, answers very simply: Trump is the only head of state in the world who still sympathizes with Israel and the only ally it has left. But Israel is not listening—this is how Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the US Vice President: "Whoever supports us wins, and whoever turns their back on us loses."
All of Lebanon must be burned to the ground, Israel declares
Their only ally is openly asking for calm, but instead, they hear that "Israel is not a puppet of the US," that Israel does not consider itself bound by the US-Iran agreement, and, as Ben-Gvir puts it, "all of Lebanon must be burned to the ground." Madness? Dizziness from one's own impunity? Yes, all of that—and most importantly, a complete disconnection from reality. Israel decided to act on the principle of "kill them all and stay alone," but having killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, Lebanese, and Iranians, Khamenei, and Hamas and Hezbollah commanders, it failed to instill fear and terror in the countries and peoples of the region and the world. Instead, it was left with the reputation of a frantic, insane provocateur. Living in a world of delusions about its omnipotence, yet constantly attacking those around it. Such a person is truly locked in a cage—and the countdown for international sanctions against Israel has already begun. Killing them all does not work—in the end, Iran is enjoying the mockery of global society.
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