Middle East

Widening Mideast Conflict Exposes Limits of US Leverage With Israel

Author: Peter Martin, Fiona MacDonald, Dan Williams, and Iain Marlow Source: Bloomberg

October 5, 2024 at 13:06

A man walks in the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Oct. 3.Source: AFP/Getty Images

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is escalating his fight against Iran. With the US presidential election a month away, the Biden administration can’t — or won’t — stop him.

The Big Take

By the time Iran fired around 200 missiles at Israel this week, the US had already told the world the Islamic Republic was about to strike. But when Israel bombed Beirut a few days earlier, killing Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and triggering Iran's reprisal, President Joe Biden's administration was all but blindsided — and by a close US ally, rather than an adversary.

From being left in the dark in Beirut to failing to broker a cease-fire in Lebanon or Gaza, the Biden administration has time and again felt the limits of its relationship with Israel. Now Washington stands on the verge of a wider war it may be unable — or unwilling — to stop, presented with what Israel calls an opportunity to reshape the Middle East in a way not seen for decades.