Writing an analysis in Forbes, the Baker Institute’s Jim Krane asks “Now That Trump Has Revived Iran’s Nuclear Program, Is War Inevitable?”
While Israel did not feature prominently in the piece, this did appear:
Firstly, the Israeli president is Reuven Rivlin while Krane clearly meant to refer to the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has been fully engaged in the Iran issue.
But has Netanyahu really been “braying for America to attack Iran?” To bray is something that is usually associated with donkeys, which is an entirely inappropriate and insulting verb to use in this case. In addition, Netanyahu, while urging the US to pressure Iran over its nuclear ambitions, has not specifically called for a military attack on the country.
You write “the Israeli president has been braying for America to attack Iran, just as he urged Congress to do in Iraq.” President Rivlin has done no such thing. @jimkrane @Forbes please correct the error. https://t.co/5fcfut52DO
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 18, 2019
Krane also claims why he believes Israel wants an American attack:
Israel wants to preserve its nuclear monopoly in the Middle East. A long US war with Iran could help.
Given Iran’s support for global terrorism and the genuine threats from its proxy Hezbollah in the north and the financial and operational support it lends to Hamas in Gaza, is the preservation of an alleged Israeli nuclear monopoly really the primary concern for Israel?
Implying that Israel wants to see a drawn-out war between the US and Iran also plays into the trope of nefarious Israeli influence over the US in pursuit of its own selfish interests.
We lodged a complaint with Forbes, which has been partially resolved. The text of the offending paragraph now reads:
What about Israel? A US invasion of Iran could unleash many of Hezbollah’s 130,000 rockets toward Israel, and draw Lebanon and Syria into a regional war. Even so, the Israeli prime minister has been pushing for stronger sanctions and even military strikes against Iran, just as he urged Congress to do in Iraq.
