US President Donald Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not defy him in the latest escalation involving Iran, but the episode has put a sharper spotlight on strains between two leaders whose political interests no longer appear fully aligned.
Asked by the BBC whether Netanyahu had defied him by firing at Iran on Sunday, Trump said Israeli missiles were “already on their way” when he spoke with the Israeli leader. He added: “If I tell him to do something, he does it.”
The denial does not settle the larger question now facing Washington, Israel and the region: whether the US can still steer Israeli military decisions at a moment when Trump is pushing diplomacy with Tehran and Netanyahu faces domestic pressure to keep fighting.
A public show of control
The latest confrontation followed months in which the two leaders publicly projected closeness. Netanyahu has described Trump as the “greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” while Trump praised Netanyahu during a 2025 appearance in Israel, joking that the Israeli prime minister was difficult to deal with but that this was part of what made him effective.
That tone has shifted. Trump was reported last week to have called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a phone call, accusing him of undermining US diplomacy and warning that Israeli escalation could endanger peace talks with Iran.
The tensions became more visible after Iran launched missiles towards northern Israel on Sunday, following an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on June 7. The attack came after US assurances days earlier that such an escalation would not happen, according to the Al Jazeera account, and raised fears that negotiations could unravel. Iran and Israel have since halted attacks on each other.
Different incentives in Washington and Jerusalem
The dispute is less about personal chemistry than about diverging incentives. Trump has reason to seek a quick diplomatic settlement with Iran after a war that has carried domestic political and economic costs in the United States. The conflict rattled global energy markets after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Netanyahu, by contrast, faces pressure from the right flank of his governing coalition and from a public that, according to polling cited by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, strongly backs military action against Iran. With elections due before the end of October, analysts cited by Al Jazeera say continued confrontation could serve Netanyahu’s political position at home, even as it complicates US diplomacy.
Washington’s leverage remains substantial. The US is Israel’s most important diplomatic protector, military supplier and financial backer. It provides at least $3.8bn a year in military assistance under a 10-year agreement running from 2019 to 2028, including funding for foreign military financing and joint missile-defence programmes.
That dependence is central to the argument that Netanyahu may have limited room to openly resist Trump. Levy told Al Jazeera that Israel “is not in a position to say no to Donald Trump,” pointing to its reliance on US backing as regional and international pressure increases.
Rift or pressure tactic?
Still, some analysts are cautious about describing the dispute as a meaningful break. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies argued that Trump’s criticism has not been matched by a change in US policy. “The words could be significant if they were matched by actions,” she told Al Jazeera.
For now, the evidence points to a narrower conclusion: Trump is publicly insisting that Netanyahu remains responsive to him, while the latest confrontation has exposed a real policy gap over Iran, Lebanon and the pace of de-escalation. Whether that gap becomes a lasting rupture will depend less on sharp words than on whether Washington changes the military, diplomatic or financial support that gives it influence over Israel’s choices.
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