Despite the ferocious political attacks between the White House and the Israeli government, one hears from both sides positive ramblings about future relations between the two countries. Governmental spokespeople, mainly in Israel, describe the current rift over the Iranian nuclear deal as an unfortunate incident, or “accident,” in a family with genuinely good relations. This, however, is not the case, and there certainly might be long-term damage to the strategic alliance between the two countries.

A senior State Department official involved in US Middle East policy told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that while it is the Barack Obama administration’s intention to uphold good relations between the countries, including upgrading security assistance to Israel after congressional debate on the Iranian agreement, it might take a long time before the past level of trust between the two countries is restored. “The current mistrust toward the Israeli government is such that it may erode the very quality of coordination between the two governments,” he said.

One comes away from talking to this State Department source with the impression that the schism is not only in regard to the policy approach on how to deal with Iranian nuclear ambitions, but even more so the result of the Israeli prime minister’s partisanship. Since the last US elections, Washington believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been siding with the Republicans. He made little secret of his preference for Mitt Romney, Obama's Republican opponent in the last presidential election, and most probably hopes for a Republican to replace Obama in the 2016 elections.

One can conclude from the State Department source that in addition to possible long-term damage, short-term damage can already be seen in US-Israeli relations in several key areas. One involves the nuclear deal itself, as the lack of mutual trust could harm the pace and scope of information exchange in regard to the implementation of the Iran deal. Also, as Netanyahu’s overall Middle East policies are seen as a rejection of any diplomatic process in the region, the United States will be severely critical of any settlement expansion in the West Bank and will not, contrary to the past, block European punitive measures involving Israeli settlements.