President Donald J. Trump confirmed that he had been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Lebanon strategy in a recent phone call, while offering assurance that the two worked well together.
While rejecting the idea that he was angry during the phone call, Trump acknowledged, “I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know? At some point, ‘Bibi, we’ve got to stop this. We gotta stop it.'”
The call comes amid Trump’s attempts to wind down the Iran War, as well as Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Netanyahu is facing a potentially tough upcoming election, as peace in the region currently proves elusive. He had originally hoped that the election would take place with the full collapse of the Islamic government in Iran, rather than a protracted conflict.
Trump has emphasized the U.S.’s senior role in the Iran War, more recently stating, “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” referring to Netanyahu in a recent Financial Times interview. Trump also claimed that the U.S. and Iran are in the final steps of a peace agreement, upon which the Strait of Hormuz would reopen.
In a previous interview, Netanyahu acknowledged that he and Trump at times differ on their tactical outlook for the Iran War, while echoing Trump’s comments that they agree on the big picture. He expressed optimism that the Islamic regime in Iran would eventually go under, but said that its collapse was unpredictable, citing previous historical examples from the ex-Soviet Eastern bloc.
Trump’s aim to wrap up the Iran War has been evident in recent U.S. actions, including recent talks with Netanyahu that led to the cancellation of a major Israeli strike on Iran. While Netanyahu defended previous Israeli strikes on Iran, he confirmed that the country was halting further attacks, while allowing for the possibility of future retaliation if Iran were to attack Israel.
Such actions fly in the face of critics who have claimed that the U.S. is subject to Israel’s whims in the Middle East. Trump clearly views Israel as an ally with whom the U.S. will sometimes have foreign-policy disagreements, and he has consistently sought to avoid nation-building entanglements similar to the Iraq War. Given Trump’s popularity among Israelis, his goal of a meaningful peace would likely boost Netanyahu’s electoral prospects, while more importantly preventing a prolonged regional conflict.
