Previously, the war known as Operation Epic Fury in the United States and Operation Roaring Lion in Israel marked a historic first: the first time the soldiers of the two countries fought side by side. By all accounts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the main – if not the most important – voices. influence the decision of President Donald Trump launching a military operation, which has now lasted more than 100 days. And yet, it has been clear from the beginning that there was a difference in the priorities of the two countries during the war. Those differences have never been more apparent than they were this past weekend.
On Sunday night, Iran launched its own the first direct attack against Israel since an early ceasefire in the conflict in early April, firing a barrage of missiles at several targets including an air base; Tehran said retaliation for previous Israeli attacks south of Lebanon. Trump said on Sunday that he had asked Netanyahu not to retaliate in order to allow ceasefire talks to continue. He also told the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday that Netanyahu “will have no choice,” but to accept the cease-fire agreement negotiated by the United States, adding, “I am shooting,” he said. “I shoot all the shots. He doesn’t shoot.”
However, Netanyahu appeared to take his own shot on Monday, with Israel to launch a strike against a petrochemical plant in southern Iran – his first domestic strikes since the ceasefire. US officials say The US military did not participate in the attack.
The two sides have now taken steps to slow down. The Iranian army has said it has done so ended its operations against Israel for now, with Netanyahu ordering his troops to stop preparations for another attack after that Trump posted on Social Reality that both countries “stop immediately ‘shooting.’
Publicly, it looked like Netanyahu had defied Trump, although later, sources told the Wall Street Journal that. Netanyahu had made it clear to Trump in a conversation on Sunday that he had to retaliate, and Trump had only urged him to limit it. Either way, it’s a sign that when it comes to this war, the motivations of the two leaders are at odds. The airstrikes come just a week after the distress call which Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude over what Trump felt were Israel’s disproportionate military actions in Lebanon. On Sunday, according to Trump, he warned Netanyahu that if he escalates the war further, he may soon left to fight Iran alone.
The divisions here are not new. Israel’s ultimate goal, since the start of the operation, has been regime change in Tehran, where the United States was more concerned about maintaining regional stability. As was the case in Gaza, Israeli officials felt that the ceasefire with Iran had been imposed on them by the United States and that their goals had not yet been achieved.
To make matters worse, both leaders are heading into important elections. Netanyahu faces the very real possibility of losing power in national elections at the end of October. Trump’s Republicans could lose one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections in November.
Time Trump still believes can salvage a victory from Epic Fury and has shown that he will not cut the deal with Iran at any price, it will be clear that it is in his best interest, and in the best interest of his party, for him to end the unknown war that has increased the cost of life for the American electorate as soon as possible.
In Israel, meanwhile, War is very popularand returning it may benefit Netanyahu, reeling in the polls over his ongoing corruption trial as well as criticism from the security failures that led to the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. After months of going in and out of bomb shelters, it will undoubtedly be harder to make the case to Israeli voters that it is worth it if the war ends with the Iranian regime still in place, rebuilding its missile forces, its proxy networks, and more. even his nuclear program. Israeli troops are also entering Lebanon more aggressively response to rocket attacks from Iran’s ally Hezbollah, despite US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire there.
“There was no way Netanyahu — when he’s so close to the election when he’s underwater, and when people are already angry about what’s going on in northern Israel (where Hezbollah is firing missiles) — he couldn’t directly respond to Iranian ballistic missiles on Israeli territory,” said Michael Koplow, senior policy officer at the US-based Israel Policy Forum.
Both leaders are also at pains to show that they are not letting the other “call the shots.” Netanyahu has been criticized more by his election opponents for turning Israel into a US client country and failing to oppose Trump; criticism will intensify if Israel is forced to accept a US-brokered ceasefire seen as favoring Iran. Trump, meanwhile, is taking heat from opponents as well as members of his coalition to take marching orders from Israel. Netanyahu has an incentive to show he can stand up to Trump. Trump continues to insist that he is the main partner in the relationship.
A major sticking point in cooperation in the coming weeks could be Lebanon. Israel sees Hezbollah as an imminent threat and wants to separate the issue from talks with Iran, in order to preserve its ability to attack Lebanon as it sees fit. The Iranians, as they did on Sunday, are eager to unite the two battlefields, wanting any ceasefire to also cover Lebanon. That means that the Trump administration — which has been largely silent on the issue of Hezbollah — is increasingly viewing Israel’s actions in Lebanon as an obstacle to ending a larger war. Trump has already pressured Israel to reduce some of its operations and avoid strikes in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
It will certainly complicate efforts to end the war if the United States has to negotiate a cease-fire not only with its rival, Iran, but also with its ally, Israel. But in the end, there is probably a floor to how bad the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu can get. For all that he is more willing than other US presidents to publicly say things that seem right to humiliate the Israeli leader, Trump is also far from it. more ready to agree with the real policies of Israel – in Iran, Lebanon, or the Palestinian territories. For his part, Netanyahu can only go so far when it comes to publicly breaking with Trump.
The real test of whether anything has fundamentally changed in the US-Israel relationship may come when one or both of these leaders are out of office.
