Donald Trump’s relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu has withstood a number of crises since the two joined forces to wage war on Iran, but his frustration with the Israeli leader has burst into the open over his continued attacks on Lebanon and Iran.
“I call the shots. I call all the shots. [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots,” Trump exclaimed in an interview with the FT on Sunday. Would Netanyahu ultimately have to accept a deal with Iran? “He won’t have a choice.”
The friction comes as the interests of Israel and the US diverge, with Trump under mounting pressure to settle conflict in the Middle East and tame petrol prices ahead of midterm elections in November, and Netanyahu accused by his domestic critics of failing to achieve the goals he set at the start of the fighting.