Amid escalating tensions as the Israel-Iran conflict enters its fifth day, geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer told Newsmax on Monday that it is not in America's interest to eliminate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group and subsidiary GZERO Media, was asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would target Khamenei directly.
"I'd be very surprised, given that that is clearly not in the interests of the United States," Bremmer said.
"The Americans are working hand in glove with the Israelis in providing and processing intelligence and providing an enormous amount of direct military support to Israel. That's going to continue.
"Netanyahu appreciates that, as does his government. I think that they're going to listen to [President Donald] Trump on this," he said.
Bremmer described the relationship between the U.S. and Israel as "integrated."
"Of course, it's defense for incoming missiles. It's military know-how. It's technology. It's direct aid to the tune of billions of dollars in military support a year," he said.
"A lot of the intelligence the U.S. needs in the Middle East comes from Israel, but a lot of the processing of that intelligence actually comes from the United States."
Bremmer warned prolonged conflict could unify Iranians behind their government.
"Certainly, the longer the war goes on, the more you're likely to see a rally-around-the-flag effect, because that will mean more Iranian civilians are dying," he said.
"If this was targeted and just hit nuclear capacity, ballistic missile capacity, and almost no civilians, I think it would be more likely a hit to the regime, and Iranian people might be more restive."
Regarding international criticism of Israel's operations aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, Bremmer said global sentiment differs from responses to the Israel-Hamas war.
"This isn't like the war in Gaza, where the large majority of populations in countries around the world really are critical of what Israel is doing. It's much more mixed on Iran.
"Iran is clearly acting against unanimous [U.N.] Security Council resolutions in their ballistic missile program and is not in accordance with inspectors," he said.
"Only Finland came out and condemned the attack. The rest of the EU is all with Israel on this. The United States is with Israel on this. The Gulf states have publicly been critical, but privately, they're not unhappy."
Russia, despite condemning Israeli actions, appears unwilling to act further, Bremmer added, due to dependence on Iranian weaponry.
"Even Russia, which gets so much of their drone capacity and ammunition from Iran — very important for Russia in Ukraine — they condemned Israel but aren't willing to do anything," Bremmer said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.