It means that Iran is using its influence over allies in the region to reduce the fighting (and open critical shipping lanes) hoping that it will improve the chances of a striking a deal with Trump on the nuclear issue. (Trump has said that if an agreement can’t be reached, then war will be the only option.)

Naturally, these developments terrify Israel from the point of view that Israel needs the US to assist it in any attack on Iran. But if Trump goes ahead and makes a deal with Iran (without telling Bibi, like he did with the Houthis) then Israel’s dream of defeating Iran and emerging as dominant power in the region, becomes impossible. In short, Israel needs US support in any future conflict with Iran, which means they must preemptively sabotage the nuclear negotiations. If the negotiations fail, then Trump will join Israel in air strikes on Iran. This is the scenario Netanyahu wants.

So, we should not be surprised that—less than 48 hours after Trump made the deal with the Houthis—two suspicious incidents took place that suggest Israel is (desperately) taking steps to sabotage the negotiations. First there’s this excerpt from an article at the Times of Israel: