Netanyahu congratulated Trump on Wednesday after Trump’s victory was confirmed.
New Delhi: Former CIA director and US defense secretary Leon Panetta has made a startling prediction about US president-elect Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Leon Panetta, Donald Trump, after taking over as the president, will give Benjamin Netanyahu a “blank check” in the Middle East, possibly opening the way for all-out war between Israel and Iran, reported The Guardian.
“With regards to the Middle East, I think he’s basically going to give Netanyahu a blank check,” said Panetta about Trump who has won the US presidential election. He will assume charge in January 2025.
“Whatever you do, whatever you want to do, whoever you want to go after, you have my blessing. I mean, he basically said that (before the election),” said Panetta.
The Guardian reported that Netanyahu and the US president-elect were reported to have spoken during the US election campaign. Netanyahu congratulated Trump on Wednesday, after Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris was confirmed.
“And so the real question there is whether Netanyahu decides to continue to try to expand that war, go after Iran, or do things that basically create an even greater concern about whether or not the Middle East is ever going to resolve itself or be in constant conflict,” observed Panetta.
Leon Panetta, 85, Panetta is vastly experienced, having been a congressman from California (1977-1993), White House budget chief and chief of staff to Bill Clinton (1993-97), and CIA director (2009-11) and secretary of defense (2011-13) under Barack Obama.
Reflecting on Donald Trump’s return, Panetta outlined a challenging foreign policy picture.
“As I’ve often mentioned in the past, we’re living in a very dangerous world. There are a number of flashpoints, whether it’s Russia and Ukraine, whether it’s China and Taiwan, whether it’s the Middle East, whether it’s Iran, whether it’s North Korea, whether it’s terrorism,” he said.