The Trump administration is signaling frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu at a critical moment. Vice President JD Vance recently took the unusual step of publicly rebuking Israeli leaders for their treatment of Washington, their most powerful ally, while negotiations with Iran are underway.
On June 18, Vance stood at the White House podium and challenged Israel's government for alienating its only major backer in the region. He reminded Israeli leaders that the bulk of their defensive weapons and funding comes directly from American hands and American taxpayers. The criticism was pointed enough that observers read it as a veiled warning to Netanyahu specifically.
Behind closed doors, Trump has been even blunter. The president reportedly told Netanyahu he is "fucking crazy" and later told Axios that the Israeli leader "has no fucking judgment." On June 7, Trump declared to the Financial Times: "I call all the shots. He doesn't call the shots."
These public and private rebukes raise a central question: will Trump actually follow through, or is this performance merely a repeat of his past pattern? The answer could determine whether a nascent nuclear agreement with Iran survives.
The Stakes in Lebanon
For years, Trump has leaked displeasure with Netanyahu while continuing to supply Israel with tens of billions in military aid without restrictions. Since October 2023, Israel has used American weapons to wage wars across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Qatar, eventually drawing the United States into a direct conflict with Iran.
That joint attack began on February 28, and by early April, the two countries had reached a ceasefire. Iran insisted any deal must hold on all fronts, specifically including Lebanon, where Israel has occupied territory and continued strikes despite multiple ceasefires negotiated with local authorities and Hezbollah.
Netanyahu rejected the ceasefire almost immediately. On April 8, just one day after the initial agreement, Israel launched one of Lebanon's deadliest strikes in modern history. In ten minutes, Israeli warplanes bombed more than 100 targets, killing at least 350 people and wounding over 1,200. The operation was named "Eternal Darkness."
Israeli defense officials made no secret of their intentions. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would destroy "all houses" in Lebanese border villages "in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza." The threat echoed tactics that have devastated Gaza's civilian population.
Iran's response was swift. Tehran warned it would abandon nuclear talks and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied gas passes. That threat alarmed Trump, who had celebrated reopening the waterway as a major achievement of the ceasefire deal signed just days earlier.
On June 1, Trump called Netanyahu directly, and the conversation was heated. According to reports, Trump berated the Israeli premier for expanding attacks in southern Lebanon and threatening Beirut. "You're fucking crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me," Trump reportedly said. "I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."
Two weeks later, at a G7 summit, Trump went public with his criticism. He questioned Israel's military tactics, which had killed more than 4,100 people since early March. "Too many people have been killed," Trump said. "You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they're not all Hezbollah."
The core issue is leverage. Trump now has real incentive to restrain Netanyahu. The Israeli leader spent months pushing Trump to launch a war aimed at toppling Iran's government. That gambit failed. Iran withstood weeks of bombing and retaliated with missile strikes against American bases across the Middle East.
To declare victory and move past the conflict, Trump needs a nuclear deal with Tehran. But Iran has made clear that Lebanon is non-negotiable. U.S. intelligence agencies have warned Trump that Netanyahu will likely attempt to sabotage any agreement with Iran's leadership.
The real test lies ahead. Trump has talked tough before without following through. He has never withheld weapons from Israel, despite decades of opportunities. Netanyahu's calculation has always been that Washington's support is unconditional, regardless of Israeli actions. Whether Trump is finally willing to tie aid to behavior will determine whether his Iran negotiations succeed or collapse.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump is at a genuine fork in the road. Either he backs his threats with actual leverage, or Netanyahu calls his bluff and the whole deal with Iran falls apart."
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