“Israel’s dramatic escalation is completely compatible with its past efforts to drag the U.S. into another war,” one expert said of the Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Iran.
By Jessica Corbett
Amid mounting fears of a regional war in the Middle East, a pair of Democratic congressmen joined the growing chorus warning against the U.S. engaging in an armed conflict with Iran.
In response to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introducing a resolution to authorize the use of U.S. armed forces against Iran, Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on social media Saturday that “the U.S. must not be dragged into a war with Iran.”
“The Iraq War was the biggest American blunder of the 21st century,” Khanna added. “Every candidate running this cycle must be clear on where they stand on this.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said early Sunday: “I agree with Ro Khanna. No war with Iran! Let’s all get on record with this.”
Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, urged Khanna to introduce a related war powers resolution, arguing that “we really could use a clear vehicle like this to increase the pressure for no U.S. military intervention in a disastrous war with Iran.”
Since Hamas, the Palestinian political and militant group that has controlled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, led the October 7 attack on Israel, Israeli forces—backed by diplomatic and weapons support from U.S. President Joe Biden and Congress—have killed at least 39,583 people in the coastal enclave and injured another 91,398, according to local officials.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—which faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over Gaza—has elevated fears of a regional war this week with an airstrike targeting Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon and the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh at his residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
By killing Haniyeh, “Netanyahu has systematically sabotaged cease-fire talks because ending the war will likely end his political career,” Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said Wednesday.
“Here we go again. Scrambling to prevent total war by pressing Iran not to retaliate,” Parsi said Sunday, pointing to the final paragraph of a New York Times opinion piece he wrote in April about a conflict that began with an attack on Iran’s diplomatic compound in Syria. “Had Biden forced a Gaza cease-fire, we wouldn’t perpetually be on the precipice of war.”
Parsi had argued earlier this year that “Mr. Biden has pursued policies that have pushed the Middle East to the precipice of war. His tactical successes in avoiding the worst outcomes of his policies should not be belittled. But they can never make up for his government’s broader failure to pursue a strategy that brings real security to America and real peace to the Middle East.”
Netanyahu has pushed the US to go to war with Iran for more than 15 years. The last four American presidents have faced pressure from Israel to go to war with Iran.
Israel’s dramatic escalation is completely compatible with its past efforts to drag the US into another war. pic.twitter.com/jQh6EN4uPB
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) August 3, 2024
Parsi also highlighted a social media thread from Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who said Sunday that “similar de-escalation/crisis management efforts that helped to defuse the Israel-Iran confrontation in April… are in motion again—only this time, the situation is far more complex and dangerous.”
“Stumbling from one escalatory cycle to another and relying heavily on luck to avert a full-blown regional war is unsustainable and irresponsible,” she warned. “We’re a miscalculation or a miscue away from an event that could draw the U.S. and Iran into a direct military conflict.”
“Hoping that cooler heads will prevail time and time again is not a strategy. The diplomatic off-ramps to break the cycle are clear and begin with securing a cease-fire agreement and hostage release in Gaza,” she continued. “As we saw during the humanitarian pause in late 2023, every Iranian proxy and aligned group stood down during this period. In addition to ending the bloodshed and massive suffering, a cease-fire would calm the situation in the region, providing time and space for negotiations, large-scale aid, and the rebuilding of Gaza.”
Haniyeh’s assassination—the details of which are being disputed—has Israel preparing for potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies. Netanyahu on Sunday told a Cabinet meeting that Israel is already in a “multifront war” with both.
According toThe Associated Press, which reported on the prime minister’s remarks:
“Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts—”We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said—while the Pentagon has moved significant assets to the region.
“We are doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told ABC.
The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it was deploying additional military resources to the Middle East, despite reported tension between Biden and Netanyahu, who was in Washington, D.C. last month to address Congress and meet with key U.S. leaders.
I’m so sick of the Biden admin acting like they’re trying to deescalate while they support a genocide in Gaza, send more weapons to the Middle East, and arm the man who’s actively trying to blow it up. https://t.co/5jFaVOhjVA pic.twitter.com/mjpn0b7GJf
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) August 4, 2024
Citing an unnamed Biden administration official, Haaretzreported Saturday that the most recent conversations between Biden and Netanyahu, including one at the White House, “were difficult and tense.”
As the Israeli newspaper detailed:
“Biden realized that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages,” the official told Haaretz. “He’s not saying it publicly yet, but in the meeting between them, he specifically told him, ‘Stop bullshitting me.'”
The official said that the U.S. is preparing to help Israel in the face of Iran and Hezbollah’s response to the assassinations that Israel carried out last week in Beirut and Tehran—despite the tension between the two leaders—but made it clear that there would be no American backing for moves that would further expand the scope of the conflict.
“Netanyahu is trying to prolong the war instead of focusing on how to get to a hostage deal,” the official said. “It’s making it harder for us to continue supporting Israel over time.”
Responding to the reporting on social media, Parsi said: “In a shocking turn of events, an Israeli prime minister who has lied to every American president since Bill Clinton, turns around and ** drum roll ** lies to Biden! It took Biden 10 months to ‘realize’ he was being lied to. TEN MONTHS!!!”
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