Maj. Gen. (Res.) Uzi Dayan, former National Security Council Chief, criticized the American strategy against Iran this morning (Friday) on the “Israel This Morning” program with Shira Kai Cohen, aiming at how the U.S. is managing the campaign. According to him, the American approach still leans on a willingness to return to negotiations, even as strikes continue.
Dayan argued that the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, and of the United States in general, prefers “negotiations that will lead to a bad deal rather than going to a just war.” According to him, this is a utilitarian approach, unlike the Israeli conception that rests on “justice, morality, and existential necessity.”
Referring to the American strikes against Iran, Dayan said: “They’re fine, but they’re not enough.” He explained that the problem isn’t necessarily the number of strikes, but the nature of the targets and the message accompanying them: “We’ll strike, and we’ll keep striking, but if you want we’ll go back to negotiations.” Dayan added that “the understandings agreement” reached with Iran didn’t hold.
According to him, the United States needs to change course and shift to a clearer offensive policy. “The Americans need to move to an offensive aimed at subduing Iran, not just causing it damage,” he said. Dayan even pointed to a possible target from his perspective: “If I were them, I’d go after eliminating transportation, the entire Iranian transportation system, including gas stations, including airports, including seaports.”
Dayan emphasized that Israel has a significant role in such an effort, especially in intelligence and striking “regime targets.” At the same time, he warned against a rapid deterioration of the situation: “This war can move to a ballistic missile here, a ballistic missile there, and within hours we’ll be in a state of war.”
Later, Dayan addressed Iran’s situation and said that “Iran isn’t in control of the situation, but it’s surviving the situation.” According to him, from Tehran’s perspective, the central survival is the regime’s own survival.
As for Israel, Dayan determined that it must focus on targets directly related to its existential security, first and foremost “the ballistic, nuclear enterprise.” He added that Israel has an advantage in the regional arena due to the ongoing confrontation with “the tentacles, the arms of this octopus called Iran,” including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Dayan concluded that despite the threats, Israel’s situation has improved following the war’s achievements: “Our situation is much better because we have one of the great exemplary achievements of this war, all these defensible borders.”