The Pro-Israel General of the United States silently influences Trump in Iran

There are clear signs that the United States can soon join Israel’s continuous offensive against his enemy. American military assets are in motion. In recent days, the Air Force has sent dozens of fuel replenishment aircraft, which replace the airplanes, which allow longer bombings, to the Middle East, and an aircraft carrier of the United States has begun to go to the region.

Although President Donald Trump and his assistants continue to send mixed messages about the possibility of a direct participation of the United States, it is easier for Trump to order the US forces to fight.

The choice to participate in a war against Iran still falls to Trump, but the military accumulation suggests the greatest influence of the member of his national security team that can support more an American Israeli operation against Iran: Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the US military commander for operations in the Middle East.

People familiar with Kurilla told News themezone that he is especially close to Israel, even for the standards of other US officials who have worked with the former US partner. This proximity has been largely to Israeli military and intelligence officials who have long treated Iran as an incontrovertible threat in the neighborhood, while the United States, farther and with their own interests, has tried diplomacy with Tehran.

“He had better information about what they were doing and what they were seeing in their intelligence before having it than anyone in our government,” said a former American official, who requested anonymity to speak frankly.

Since Trump assumed the position, some conservatives, even in the administration, distrust Israel’s military approach to Iran and Kurilla’s role in particular, pointing out the president’s repeated promises to avoid expensive foreign wars and without strategies.

“Based on my experience with [Kurilla]… Take a fundamentally different vision of the importance of the Middle East than many other people in the administration. And I think he also believes that a military campaign against Iran will not be as expensive as others, “said Dan Caldwell, a former Trump name in the Pentagon, told the program” Breaking points “on Monday.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you see a lot of pressure to do something before your retirement time. “

Kurilla, a four -star army general, has held his position since April 2022 and is scheduled to resign in the coming months. Supervised the expanded military support of the United States to Israel after the attack of the country of October 7, 2023 of Hamas. He repeatedly visited Israel to coordinate US cooperation in its brutal subsequent military operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and to reinforce Israeli defenses after Israeli attacks last year caused attacks of reprisals for Iran.

Under President Joe Biden, Kurilla was involved in planning with Israeli counterparts on a possible American-Israeli joint strike against Iran, said former US official to News themezone. Bajo Trump, has continued the discussions about this plan and faced the appointed politicians in the Pentagon who have tried to redirect the attention of the military to Asia.

With Kurilla’s departure approaching, American and Israeli officials get excited about an American strike against Iran, a prospect that national security experts see as a spiral of uncontrollable violence, have tried to achieve that goal while the general is still in office. Now, Pro-Strike figures can see Trump’s imminent decision on whether to approve such an attack as his best final opportunity for one, and do everything to ensure that the president offers a green light.

Illustration: News themezone; Photo: Getty Images

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his allies in the United States say that the current moment presents a unique and irresistible possibility for Israel to weaken its enemies in the region, pointing out developments such as the weakening of Israel of the Lebanese group Hezbollah and the unexpected fall of the dictator Syria Bashar Assad, both allies of Iran.

These hawks imagine a historical achievement that eclipses the growing human cost of Israeli wars backed by the United States. Some US officials of the Biden and Trump administrations have also bought that narrative, seeing it as a way of claiming credit to ensure Israel’s position after October. 7 And to divert criticism about the suffering of the Palestinians, the Lebanese and others and the role of the United States in documented violations of national and international law.

Kurilla has indicated that he sees Israel’s blow of his enemies, even without a clear plan on how to translate war into stability, as offering a model for US military elections. He used his goal of Hezbollah as the base For a war plan, he developed against the Hutí militia of Yemen.

But that vision seems to conflict with Trump’s own declared desire to reach an agreement with Iran on his nuclear program. While some defenders of the Israeli assault claim that it will help nuclear diplomacy, most experts doubt that Tehran negotiates while bombing or if you feel that you are pushing towards a total capitulation.

American intelligence has not confirmed Israel’s statement that Iran was, before the launch of Friday’s war, running towards the construction of a nuclear weapon, an option that Iranian officials have said that they would not pursue, according to a Wall Street Journal Report on Tuesday and the recent testimony of the National Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard.

The most cited objective of the defenders of an American-Israeli joint attack is that Washington uses mass bombs and bombers, which Israel lacks, to aim at the deeply buried of Iran. Duff Uranium enrichment plant.

Analysts point out that Iran’s reaction would probably be intense and unpredictable, including attacks against US forces or global trade routes, and that even destroying Fordow would not eliminate Tehran’s nuclear experience, while potentially emboldened hawks to seek more violence to overcome the Iranian regime.

He reached to comment for this story, a spokesman for the United States Central Command directed News themezone to the White House. The spokesmen did not respond to a request for comments.

‘Empowering and emboldened’

Kurilla probably has an unusual influence on Iran in an administration where other power players have lost or renounced influence.

The secretary of defense of scandals, Pete Hegseth, has fought for staff The political ranks of the Pentagon or are positioned as an important player in politics. In the Middle East, it is considered that Kurilla has “a huge role” due to “instability” in the Department of Defense, to News themezone, a regional source, which spoke under condition of anonymity.

“Kurilla is a prominent figure, since everyone knows their name and previously few [in U.S. Central Command] He would enjoy such a public profile, and leadership is getting involved with him on Hegseth because it is useless, “the source continued. (Hegseth is, in any case, near With Netanyahu.)

Meanwhile, other players in the US National Security Circles have weakened or demonstrated less inclined to advocate for private ideas, including those who had previously supported, who to demonstrate faith to Trump, as the Secretary of State Framework Rubio, who plans to say goodbye to almost 2,000 diplomats despite his previous support to the agency he now leads.

The influence of Kurilla “is authorized and emboldened by the complete dismantling of the State Department and its embassies worldwide,” said the regional source.

“Everyone knows their name … and leadership is committing to him about Hegseth because it is useless.”

– Regional Source, Gen. Arm

The Governments of the Middle East near the United States are trying to foster decallation, but they have not been able to contain other offensives backed by the United States currently directed by Netanyahu. “20 months after Gaza’s war, I think there is exhaustion and relative hopelessness to influence the minds of conflict dynamics,” said the source.

Military commanders such as Kurilla have experience in victories in the battlefield, but not in a long -term strategy or in the management of internal political results of private national security options, said Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program in the group of experts of defense priorities.

“Kurilla seems very interested in the United States getting more involved in the region … and seems interested in military solutions that take a long time to concentrate and involve many resources, nothing of which I think is something that President Trump is particularly interested,” Kelanic said. “I am concerned about civil-military relations and what is the suitability of military commanders by pressing for certain policy results.”

Bajo Trump, who said “Hero loves the military”, there is a particular risk of a figure like Kurilla that dominates internal discussions.

“It’s always difficult for a president to face the military … That is especially difficult for Trump because he sees the military as this almighty power that the United States has,” Kelanic said. “If the army enters with the stars and badges, it is difficult not to be influenced by them. I think the army is doing because they have the best interest of the United States in the heart, but they only have part of the image.”

Kurilla has obtained an “exceptional access” to the low oval office Trump, What even the former president of the Chiefs of the Joint Chiefs, CQ Brown, lacked a former Pentagon official, said Nikkei Asia. (In addition to expelling diplomats, the Trump administration has replaced Superior military personnel, including Brown).

Government Guardacas ‘They are surrounded’

Trump can still choose to keep the United States out of the war with Iran, instructing Kurilla and other assistants who present US military accumulation as a negotiation tactic with Tehran.

“If we can make Israel stop even temporarily and the United States remains outside, then the United States and Israel can go to Iran and say … let’s go to the table,” Kelanic said. Even so, restoring trust with the Iranians for conversations will be a challenge, he said, and before getting there, the United States will need to restrict Israel.

Kurilla has previously transmitted to the Israelis that Trump has not wanted to attack Fordow, and supported the idea of ​​an agreement that prevents Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. It is “aggressive but reasonable,” said the former American official.

An official of the Biden administration, who spoke under anonymity, presented Kurilla’s mentality as common among US military officers in their position “because everyone came up with Iraq war”, during which the militias backed by Iran were widely attacked to US troops.

Vice President JD Vance used a Tuesday in X to suggest that Trump was still suspicious of intervention abroad. “People are right to worry about the foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiot foreign policy. But I think the president has I cattle some confidence in this topic. And having seen this closely and I can assure you that you are only interested in using the US army to achieve the objectives of the American people, “Vance wrote.

And the Trump administration on Sunday sent to the governments of the Middle East another diplomatic note that said that the United States did not plan to get involved in the war, echoing a warning Washington sent before Israel’s attack, an Arab official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told News themezone.

Even so, it will be a uphill battle to avoid the participation of us, given the voices in favor of the war ‘ effectiveness So far to convince Trump that the Israeli campaign is a winning proposal. The increasingly bellicose rhetoric of the president, the composition of his team and the unified front between the smart hawks, from Netanyahu and Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) to Pro-Israel hard funds such as the Lobby Aipac group point to an imminent decision for the United States to attack Iran, a result president of the results to avoid decades.

“He would take some Herculean leadership by T RUMP to avoid it,” Kelanic said, noting that the president’s ability to prepare a complex and effective policy is weaker because “he” surrounded the federal government. ”

Some forces outside the administration believe they can create public pressure for peace. Several legislators announced Monday night that support A resolution except for the participation of the United States in the Israel campaign.

The representative RO Khanna (D-Calif.), Who is helping to lead the effort with Republican representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Told News themezone that he believes that if the bill can obtain a vote, he could gain the support of “at least 200 Democrats” and more than 40 Republicans, and that he hopes to organize such a vote in the next few days. (Massie is currently the only Republican who supports the measure).

“Kurilla’s work is to be prepared for all scenarios. The problem is political leadership,” Khanna said, saying that the Democrats, in particular, should demonstrate that the United States would not provide a “blank check” for Netanyahu.

But that has been effectively Washington’s pattern for almost two yearsalthough the United States has been repeatedly involved in alleged Israeli war crimes, already measure that tensions and instability have grown in the Middle East.

“This crisis is being carried out as a result of a bipartisan deception that the United States benefits when the Israeli government can bombard anyone, anywhere and not experience consequences of its most important sponsor,” he told News themezone Sara Haghdoosti, the executive director of the defense group without war. “Trump has the current war, but it is unimaginable that we were even in this position without the fact that the Biden administration fails to control Netanyahu’s bombardment in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and beyond.”

It depends on the president to decide whether to break with that status quo. “Kurilla has the advantage. But the decision is Trump’s,” Daniel Shapiro, former United States ambassador to Israel and the Pentagon official, wrote In X Monday.