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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in the past listed the three main threats facing Israel as \u201cIran, Iran and Iran.\u201d He has largely staked his career on being Israel\u2019s protector against Iranian nuclear ambitions<\/a>, has openly confronted Tehran<\/a> in recent months and is at war with Iran-backed militias around the region<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many Israelis were therefore surprised when President Trump, with Mr. Netanyahu sitting beside him, announced on Monday that the United States would engage in \u201cdirect\u201d negotiations<\/a> with Iran on Saturday in a last-ditch effort to rein in the country\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s statement was splashed over the front pages<\/a> of Israel\u2019s major newspapers on Tuesday morning. As the day went on, pundits increasingly weighed in, parsing the pros and cons of the unexpected development.<\/p>\n By early evening in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu had issued a video statement before his departure from Washington in which he largely strove to emphasize his close alliance and alignment with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons,\u201d he said. That, he explained, would mean the total destruction of Iran\u2019s vast nuclear program, blowing up facilities and dismantling all equipment, all carried out by the United States.<\/p>\n But should Iran drag out the talks, Mr. Netanyahu said, the second option would be a military one. \u201cEveryone understands that,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cWe discussed it at length.\u201d<\/p>\n With Iran\u2019s nuclear program considered to be at its most advanced stage<\/a> ever, some Israeli experts have suggested that now would be the perfect time to attack Tehran\u2019s nuclear facilities. Iran\u2019s traditional allies on Israel\u2019s borders are either weakened, in the case of Hezbollah in Lebanon; or fallen, in the case of the Assad regime<\/a> in Syria. That means any attack could take advantage of Tehran\u2019s vulnerability after Israeli strikes in the fall<\/a> took out air defenses around key nuclear sites.<\/p>\n