In the coming weeks, U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will both utter thousands of words about the Irannuclear deal. Here’s one thing they won’t say: America and Israel have different interests.

Obama won’t say it because it would confirm the right’s claim that he doesn’t care about the Jewish state. Netanyahu won’t say it because he’s trying to convince Americans that the Iran deal is bad not just for Israel, but for them. But you can’t understand the drama playing out right now in both countries without understanding this simple truth.

America has a vital interest in preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, since that could spark a nuclear arms race in one of the least stable regions on earth. And America has a vital interest in avoiding another Middle Eastern war, since the last one cost the U.S. dearly. These aren’t just Barack Obama’s priorities. They would have been Mitt Romney’s too. And this nuclear agreement, while imperfect, achieves them better than any alternative. It’s fanciful to imagine that the U.S. could have walked away from a deal favored by all the world powers and then expected those powers — many of which have strong economic ties to Iran — to not merely maintain the existing global sanctions, but strengthen them. In May, Britain’s ambassador to the U.S. warned, “You would probably see more sanctions erosion” if nuclear talks collapse. Germany’s ambassador predicted, “If diplomacy fails, then the sanctions regime might unravel.”  Netanyahu’s proposed alternative to the current deal — increase global economic pressure until Iran capitulates — it utterly detached from reality.

David Fuller's view

Even the closest allies disagree on some points but the US / Israel alliance is much stronger for historic and cultural reasons, than the views of their changing political leaders.