{"id":154881,"date":"2026-06-11T01:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/154881\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T01:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:33:36","slug":"netanyahu-and-trump-are-at-odds-over-the-war-they-started-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/154881\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu and Trump are at odds over the war they started together"},"content":{"rendered":"

JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israel\u2019s latest strikes<\/a> on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, who started the war in lockstep, want different things.<\/p>\n

Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel<\/a> for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran<\/a>, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war<\/a> and reopen the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, who also faces elections this year<\/a>, is under pressure to stop Hezbollah\u2019s attacks and prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies. He also needs to manage relations with Israel\u2019s most important ally without appearing to kowtow to it.<\/p>\n

\"Israeli<\/p>\n

\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun, Pool Photo via AP, File)\n <\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun, Pool Photo via AP, File)<\/p>\n

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\"President<\/p>\n

\n President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)\n <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

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Political considerations push in opposite directions<\/p>\n

When the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the allies appeared shoulder to shoulder.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic\u2019s military, eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs<\/a>, and topple its government. Trump announced the death of Iran\u2019s supreme leader<\/a> in the opening barrage and urged Iranians to \u201ctake back\u201d their country.<\/p>\n

But it soon became clear that while Trump was seeking a quick win \u2014 like the one he secured in Venezuela<\/a> \u2014 Netanyahu wanted to vanquish Iran and its allies, even if it required an extended conflict.<\/p>\n

As Iran withstood weeks of heavy strikes and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, Americans and Israelis grew increasingly frustrated \u2014 but for different reasons.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., the price of gas and other goods soared as even some erstwhile supporters accused Trump of breaking a campaign promise and plunging the U.S. into another Mideast quagmire. He has pushed back<\/a> against those critics as rising anger threatens Republicans in November\u2019s congressional elections.<\/p>\n

In Israel, anger grew over Netanyahu\u2019s failure to secure a lasting victory in the wars sparked by Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which happened on his watch<\/a>. More than two years on, Hamas still rules part of Gaza<\/a>, Hezbollah still fires rockets and Iran\u2019s government and nuclear program remain intact, despite heavy losses.<\/p>\n

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Israel\u2019s bombardment of Lebanon strains relations<\/p>\n

The collision course runs through Lebanon, where fighting still rages between Israel and Hezbollah despite ceasefire announcements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iran wants Lebanon included in any wider regional truce, a demand Trump seems to have accepted in order to get a deal. Iran has threatened to attack Israel again if it keeps striking Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Israel is determined to keep the theaters separate and continue its campaign in Lebanon, where it has occupied large swaths of the south<\/a>, until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated.<\/p>\n

The tensions spilled into the open last week, when Trump acknowledged holding a tense call with Netanyahu about Lebanon. He admitted to using expletives and calling the Israeli leader \u201ccrazy,\u201d<\/a> saying he\u2019d grown frustrated that Israel\u2019s war on Hezbollah threatened the Iran talks.<\/p>\n

In a series of interviews, Trump made clear that he was not happy about Israel\u2019s Sunday strike in Beirut<\/a>, which came without warning and hit a residential building, killing two people and wounding 20, according to Lebanese authorities.<\/p>\n

He then urged restraint from Israel after Iran launched its first barrage of missiles later that day. \u201cI call all the shots,\u201d not Netanyahu, Trump told the Financial Times.<\/p>\n

Hours later, Israel bombed Iran.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he greets Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he greets Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

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Officials downplay differences<\/p>\n

Trump had initially urged restraint in order to calm markets and keep negotiations from falling apart, according to a person familiar with the U.S.-Israel deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversations.<\/p>\n

Israeli officials made the counterargument that the U.S. would not tolerate attacks without a swift response. The person added that it was also understood by both sides that not responding to the Iranian strikes would put Netanyahu in a difficult position politically.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu has downplayed any perceived differences.<\/p>\n

After the latest strikes, he told reporters in Hebrew that \u201cIsrael has a full right to self-defense, and we are exercising it to the extent necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI say this to you, just as I say this, with appreciation and respect, in my good conversations with my friend, President Trump,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk into Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla., after an arrival greeting. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk into Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla., after an arrival greeting. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s unclear if there will be lasting damage<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time that Trump has been publicly at odds with Netanyahu about a military operation.<\/p>\n

In March, less than three weeks into the conflict, Trump was riled by Netanyahu\u2019s decision to attack a critical Iranian gas field<\/a>, which prompted Iran to retaliate against energy infrastructure<\/a> in the Gulf.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him, \u2019Don\u2019t do that,\u2019\u201d Trump said at the time. \u201cWe get along great. It\u2019s coordinated, but on occasion he\u2019ll do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trump publicly disagreed with the decision, two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly said the U.S. was made aware of Israel\u2019s plans ahead of the attack.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether the latest dispute will cause lasting damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not so uncommon for the U.S.-Israel relationship to have these kinds of tensions. What\u2019s so different right now is how publicly it\u2019s playing out,\u201d said Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.<\/p>\n

He noted that Trump has had similar public spats with other heads of state, including close allies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel\u2019s Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities, said he doubted the rift seriously threatened the alliance. He said Netanyahu had been careful not to push things too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was a big threat, like if Israel were to continue the war in Iran and drag the U.S. into it, that would have been a different situation,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that is not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted, though, that there are still \u201cbasic disagreements between Netanyahu and Trump on Iran, Lebanon and Gaza\u201d that remain unanswered.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israel\u2019s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[325,41,38,197,100,1829,34,61,196,37,199,49388,324,81,782,323,200,82],"class_list":["post-154881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iran","tag-ap-top-news","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-donald-trump","tag-general-news","tag-hezbollah","tag-international-agreements","tag-iran","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-war","tag-israel","tag-israel-government","tag-michael-singh","tag-mideast-wars","tag-politics","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states-government","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116728902957825679","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}