Expert: Reports of US-Israel Rift Premature Amid Middle East Developments

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Reports in various media suggesting a rift between the United States and Israel amid recent developments in the Middle East are premature, according to Sergey Lebedev, research fellow at the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and senior lecturer at the Financial University.

The expert noted that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear it does not intend to comply with the US-Iran agreement, particularly regarding Lebanon. The White House, in turn, is seeking to distance itself from Israeli policy, the analyst said.

"Media outlets quote fairly sharp jabs by US President Donald Trump about Netanyahu," Lebedev emphasized. "In particular, the US leader’s public statement at the G7 summit that 'you don't have to knock down apartment complexes every time you're looking for somebody' was widely circulated, which appears to be a direct reference to large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon."

"These developments have led observers and media to suggest that a deep political rift may be emerging between the US government and Israeli authorities, potentially resulting in a deterioration of the ‘special’ bilateral relationship. In my view, however, these forecasts are premature and overlook the deeper political and geopolitical nature of US-Israel relations," the expert added.