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The fighting has since died down, but the leaders’ differences are likely to persist.
FILE – President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded byThe fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. , is under pressure to stop Hezbollah’s attacks and prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies.
He also needs to manage relations with Israel’s most important ally without appearing to kowtow to it. When the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the allies appeared shoulder to shoulder. FILE – President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel’s President Isaac Herzog watches at left.
As Iran withstood weeks of heavy strikes and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, Americans and Israelis grew increasingly frustrated — but for different reasons. 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.
In Israel, anger grew over Netanyahu’s failure to secure a lasting victory in the wars sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack,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. The tensions spilled into the open last week, when Trump acknowledged holding a tense call with Netanyahu about Lebanon.
He admitted to using expletives andHe then urged restraint from Israel after Iran launched its first barrage of missiles later that day.
“I call all the shots,” not Netanyahu, Trump told the Financial Times. 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. FILE – President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. , after an arrival greeting.
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. After the latest strikes, he told reporters in Hebrew that “Israel has a full right to self-defense, and we are exercising it to the extent necessary.
” “I say this to you, just as I say this, with appreciation and respect, in my good conversations with my friend, President Trump,” he added. It’s not the first time that Trump has been publicly at odds with Netanyahu about a military operation.
“I told him, ’Don’t do that,’” Trump said at the time. “We get along great. It’s coordinated, but on occasion he’ll do something. ” 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’s plans ahead of the attack.
“It’s not so uncommon for the U.S.-Israel relationship to have these kinds of tensions. What’s so different right now is how publicly it’s playing out,” said Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel’s 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.
“If 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,” he said. “But that is not happening. ” He noted, though, that there are still “basic disagreements between Netanyahu and Trump on Iran, Lebanon and Gaza” that remain unanswered.
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