From June aggression to White House talks:
America’s formal pivot away from war with Iran
By Ecaterina-Elena Matoi
Scholar of Middle Eastern politics
Iran’s Islamic Revolution will turn fifty in 2029, as will the confrontation of its post-revolution political establishment. Confrontation of Iran endured an Iraq-Iran war, the fall of the Berlin Wall, War on Terror, a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and an Artificial Intelligence revolution, so far: it is more alive than ever, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announced December 2025 visit to the White House reinvigorates the old spat.
Political maneuvering should theoretically enjoy lower public scrutiny during holidays. The already record-high number of official visits to the US the current Israeli prime minister holds will add a third official visit in 2025, itself a rare early statistic for the White House. When analyzing media reports and forecasts related to the visit, two categories of topics emerge: likely to be officially discussed and likely not to be discussed. In the first category, renewed Iran attack plans are floated by the media, whereas the list of topics that may not be officially discussed can only be compiled upon observation of omissions. It is not clear before the visit whether topics such as unmatched American Artificial Intelligence investment in the UAE, and not Israel, the Rail Suez Canal, Iran-China rail connection, Belgium joining the South African genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, Bondi beach attacks, Epstein files or the bid to pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu in corruption cases will be discussed.
The US continues to confront Iran’s “resistance,” as it pressures Cuba, Venezuela, and an increasing number of potential game-changers in the announced new global order.
However, the sophisticated American approach to the Iranian file, including sanctions and blockades, identifies the Israeli attack option as a rather complementary and limited option; President Trump’s decision to limit airstrikes on Iran underlines Washington’s wiser approach to old files in the new world order.
Specifically, the 2025 posture during attack on Iran, and the new American National Security Strategy acknowledge the importance of such fronts, but effectively downgrades them.
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