Netanyahu Suffers Losses Due to Iran War, Likely to Step Down Soon

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Former Israeli Interim President Avraham Burg believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not reaped any political benefits from the conflict with Iran. He even assesses that Netanyahu is potentially facing major losses.

In an interview with the Going Underground programme, Burg stated that the war involving the United States (US) and Israel against Iran highlights sharp differences in interests between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. According to him, Trump has an interest in quickly ending the conflict to avoid impacting his domestic political agenda, particularly ahead of the US midterm elections.

“It should be a very short process,” said Burg, as quoted by RT on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

In fact, Netanyahu does have an interest in prolonging the conflict for domestic political gain. Burg mentioned that a war situation usually unites Israeli society in support of the government.

“He needs to prolong it as long as possible because he wants to enter the elections in a state of war,” said Burg.

However, this strategy is deemed not to be going according to plan, especially in the Iran war. Burg emphasised that to date, Netanyahu has not obtained any political benefits from the conflict.

“For now, Netanyahu is not getting any political benefits from this campaign. He may have lost a lot,” he said.

He even predicts that the next Israeli legislative elections will be a blow to Netanyahu. He stated that the Israeli people are starting to tire of his manipulations, tricks, and resilience in power.

“This could be the last months of his government,” said Burg.

Furthermore, Burg also dismisses the notion that Iran poses an existential threat to Israel. According to him, the tensions between the two countries can still be resolved through diplomatic channels.

“Iran is not an existential threat. This is a real issue that can be addressed through diplomacy, agreements, and a new balance,” he said.

Regarding the ceasefire, Burg described Trump’s unilateral move as a form of “divorce” between Washington and Jerusalem. He assesses that in this conflict, Iran emerges as the benefited party.

“Iran has indeed taken a very hard blow, but they remain standing, and because of that, they win,” said Burg.