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.
