On June 13, Israel began a campaign of bombing on Iran that it justified by claiming that the Islamic Republic was on the cusp of developing a nuclear weapon. Over the course of twelve days, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on civilian, political, and military infrastructure with the explicit aim of regime change. Nine days into this campaign, the United States bombed three military sites across Iran before pushing Israel to accept a cease-fire. This exposed a growing rift between the two countries. While America seems more than happy to support Israel’s decapitation of Hezbollah and genocide in Gaza — even to the point of allowing Israel to kill civilians lining up for aid — it is hesitant to get behind a full-scale war with Iran, explains Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani.

Rabbani is a researcher and longtime analyst of Middle Eastern politics. He is also coeditor of Jadaliyya and a nonresident fellow at the Qatar-based Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies. He spoke to Jacobin about the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel over a possible cease-fire, how Israel has weaponized aid against Palestinians, and the growing hostility among parts of the “America First” movement to their country’s greatest ally in the Middle East.