Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are said to have had a fierce exchange by phone at the weekend, and the subject was what to do about Iran next. The two men led their countries into this war side by side, yet it now seems to be pulling them apart.
The story comes from Ynet, an Israeli news site. Its sources, who were familiar with the call, said it got so loud and angry that one of them called it a “shouting match from hell.” At the centre of the row is a simple choice: strike Tehran again, or try to settle things through talks.
Netanyahu’s office wasn’t having it. It brushed the report aside as “fake news, complete nonsense,” and a senior Israeli official added that the call was not hostile.
Still, the Financial Times paints a picture of a prime minister who won’t let the matter rest. A diplomat who knows about the talks told the paper that Netanyahu rings Trump every day, urging him to hit Iran again. Meanwhile, American officials and leaders around the region are trying hard to keep the conflict from flaring up once more.
Trump doesn’t seem convinced. On CBS’s 60 Minutes, broadcast on November 8, he made it clear he wasn’t eager to widen the fight. When the interviewer raised the idea of fresh attacks, he answered: “Well, I’m not looking to. I don’t think there’s any reason to.”
Netanyahu sees it differently. In his view, bombs alone will never end the danger from Tehran, because Iran could simply rebuild its nuclear programme as long as the current rulers stay in charge. For Netanyahu, Israel will not be truly secure until the leadership in Tehran is gone.
He spelled this out on November 10 at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset, where he warned: “Iran is working to renew the nuclear threat. The only way to permanently remove this existential threat is by toppling the regime of the ayatollahs.”
Trouble is also brewing for Netanyahu at home. Opposition parties in Israel are working to assemble a coalition government, a move that could finally bring his long run in power to an end.