Israel Envoy Contradicts Trump on Iran Energy Strike
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- Ofir Akunis, Israel's consul general in New York, told Foreign Policy that strikes on Iranian energy sites such as the South Pars gas field 'wasn't a surprise to the American administration' and were 'part of the plan' — directly contradicting Trump's claim that 'The United States knew nothing about this particular attack.'
- Joe Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from the Trump administration this week in protest, effectively arguing that Israel dragged the United States into the war — a perception Akunis rejected.
- The US-Israel war with Iran, now nearly three weeks old, has escalated beyond the Middle East, driven up US gas prices, and remains unpopular with American voters, according to the report.
- Akunis declared Israel 'the only ally of the United States these days,' sharply criticizing the UK, France, and broader Europe for refusing to join the war and citing European 'weakness' since the early 1990s.
- Israel's stated war aims include regime change in Iran, with Akunis saying the goal is to give 'the tools to the Iranians to decide that they want a different government' and to eliminate Iran's missile and nuclear threats — contrasting with the June operation he said was 'too short.'
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has 'already won the war with Iran' but that the mission isn't complete, while Qatar's foreign ministry expressed 'serious concerns' about the South Pars strike and its potential impact on global energy markets.
- Akunis dismissed the US intelligence community's assessment that Iran won't have intercontinental ballistic missile capability until 2035, arguing the West should not 'wait' and likening the Iranian regime to Nazi Germany.
Why it matters: The Akunis-Trump contradiction puts the White House in an awkward spot: either Israel is freelancing strikes the US is denying foreknowledge of, or the administration is misrepresenting its level of coordination. Either way, it complicates war-powers accountability and the messaging battle with voters already feeling pain at the pump, while a senior counterterrorism official's resignation this week signals fractures inside the national security establishment.
