Trump Orders Netanyahu to Pause Strikes on Iran, While Israel Targets Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon

Following an exchange of airstrikes on Sunday and Monday between Israel and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abided by a request from President Donald Trump to pause further strikes on Iranian territory.

“Experts warn Trump’s attempts to restrain Israel undermine leverage in Iran talks ‘Without the credible threat of a military option, Iran is unlikely to make any concessions that would lead to any semblance of a good deal,’ JINSA’s Ari Cicurel told JI Samuel Corum/Getty Images Middle East experts warned on Monday that the Trump administration’s attempts to prevent Israel’s military retaliation against Iran and its pursuit of a swift diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran are exposing a fundamental breakdown in strategic alignment between Washington and Jerusalem”

Jewish Insider

Jerusalem made clear, however, that it will proceed with operations against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, even as analysts warned that the restraint is exposing a breakdown in strategic alignment.

Jewish Insider

JINSA’s Ari Cicurel said the administration’s approach is dangerous because “without the credible threat of a military option, Iran is unlikely to make any concessions that would lead to any semblance of a good deal.”

Amb. Eric Edelman, a distinguished fellow at JINSA and former White House official, said the president’s behavior makes the U.S. appear “desperate for a deal.”

The Globe and Mail described a long pattern of U.S. frustration with Netanyahu, including a June 1996 meeting where Bill Clinton fumed to aides afterwards, “Who’s the fucking superpower here?”

The same article said President Donald Trump later confirmed he called Netanyahu “crazy” and swore in the conversation, and it recounted Trump telling Netanyahu, “Everybody hates Israel because of this,” according to Axios.

The American Conservative

The Globe and Mail also said Trump told the Prime Minister not to retaliate against Iranian missile strikes on Israel earlier this week, and it noted that last fall Trump cajoled Netanyahu into accepting a second ceasefire in Gaza.

In the same account, Mitchell Barak said Trump’s frustration is “par for the course” and described Netanyahu’s decision-making as acting on what he thinks needs to be done “right away.”

The Globe and Mail said Trump is trying to get out of the conflict because Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up the price of oil, fertilizer and other goods that must transit the waterway, while Netanyahu wants a decisive victory over the Islamic Republic and its regional proxies.

“Trump, Not Netanyahu, Has the Cards”

The American Conservative

Rachel Brandenburg, a senior policy analyst at Israel Policy Forum, told Jewish Insider that Trump’s priority is to re-open the Strait of Hormuz to stabilize global energy markets and bring down the price of fuel, while Netanyahu wants to continue degrading Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and nuclear program.

Brandenburg also said “Both have election politics in mind, with Israeli elections on the horizon for [the fall] and U.S. midterm elections in November,” and she added that “At the moment the war isn’t helping either of them.”

In the same reporting, Aaron David Miller said Trump has leverage with Netanyahu that “no other American president has ever had,” warning that if Netanyahu puts himself between Trump and something Trump really wants, “there is no doubt in my mind that Netanyahu will comply.”