When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in Jerusalem on Nov. 10 that the option of a military strike against Iran must remain on the table, he sounded more like he was someone making a wish than someone who believes that what he says will have any real impact on the situation. The latest round of talks between the Western powers and Tehran came to an end in Geneva, followed by an open crisis in US-Israel relations, which included an exchange of accusations between Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry. But just one day after the talks, it is clear that while an agreement has not been signed, the military option is being jostled off the agenda. There is almost no one in the world — and in Israel for that matter — who believes that the Israeli Defense Forces will attack Iran’s nuclear facilities without US backing, and as was well-verified last weekend, such backing will not be given in the foreseeable future.

Over the past few days, Netanyahu has been using different channels to prevent any agreement that provides relief to the sanctions against Iran. In addition to the public one-upmanship between him and Kerry, Netanyahu also spoke with many global leaders. An agreement with Iran is taking shape, and it is only a matter of time before it is signed. Netanyahu therefore tried to explain to world leaders why the emerging agreement is so problematic. The Iranians are eager to reach an agreement. The Americans want to reach one, too. If the world powers enter into a long-term diplomatic process with Tehran — accompanied by either a total freeze or a significant slowdown of the Iranian nuclear program — the main item on Netanyahu’s agenda over the past few years will lose its relevancy.

Netanyahu could have chosen another tactic to use with the media. He could have described the emerging agreement as a personal success and the result of his relentless efforts to impose stringent economic sanctions on Iran. This approach finally pushed Iran into a corner and forced it to show greater flexibility. But Netanyahu has a hard time accepting the changes that have been occurring in the diplomatic arena since the Iranian elections in June. Instead, he is standing firmer than ever in his old position.

When Netanyahu was head of the opposition from 2006 to 2009, he launched what was — for all intents and purposes — a one-man international campaign to halt Iran’s nuclear program. He met frequently with foreign diplomats and lectured about the program’s inherent dangers, comparing the threat posed by Iran to the Holocaust in Europe. At the time, Ehud Olmert was prime minister, and the international community was focused on the peace process with the Palestinians. The whole Iranian affair seemed esoteric at best.