"The American war against Iran"
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"The American war against Iran" is a phrase Benjamin Netanyahu used to reclassify the 2026 Iran war partway through it, and which John Kiriakou returned to repeatedly as the war's defining act of manoeuvre.

Giving a speech, Netanyahu was asked by an Israeli reporter about "the American-Israeli war against Iran." He corrected her: "It's the American war against Iran. We are America's ally." Kiriakou called the remark "very much overlooked and very disturbing," and his reaction was immediate: "Oh, buddy, that's not what you were saying two weeks ago. Now we stand alone doing your dirty work."

In a separate appearance he gave the same story with the anger intact, that he had wanted to reach into the television and punch Netanyahu in the face when he said "this is America's war. We're America's ally. The Americans are the heroes here", and drew the conclusion he kept returning to: "He just played Donald Trump from beginning to end. He is smart."

Ground troops

Kiriakou reads the reclassification as preparation for leaving the United States to do the ground fighting. Israeli television was already reporting that if there were boots on the ground, they would not be joint. With the Israeli army already committed in Lebanon, where he puts the displaced at around a million, "we'll be on our own. It'll be American blood and treasure."

His underlying explanation of Israeli motive is regional rather than defensive: "Israel wants to be the hegemon of the region and saw an opportunity here."

See also

- Benjamin Netanyahu
- 2026 Iran war
- Donald Trump
- Lebanon-Israeli Conflict
