The Iran war has rattled the global economy, shaken the security assumptions of an emerging Gulf region and nudged up gas prices.
But it’s also been a stress test for the longtime friendship between two powerful leaders, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Recent tensions have even fueled speculation that the bromance between Bibi and Donald is over.
Mr. Trump said he called Mr. Netanyahu “f——— crazy” during a tense call last week as part of discussions of the situation in Lebanon, and he was equally blunt in assessing whether Mr. Netanyahu would have to accept a U.S.-brokered deal with Iran.
“He won’t have any choice,” Mr. Trump told the Financial Times over the weekend. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”
It’s a far cry from Mr. Trump’s first term, when he won Israeli praise for recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. Mr. Trump in 2020 called Mr. Netanyahu “a great friend of mine and a great friend of our country.”
SEE ALSO: Israel, Iran hold their fire after Trump pressures Netanyahu
Mr. Netanyahu, in one of his visits, called Mr. Trump “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Today, there is a rift in the friendship, fueled by seemingly divergent aims between Mr. Netanyahu, whose political base wants to punish Iran and its terror proxies in Lebanon, and Mr. Trump, who is seeking a peace deal that would forestall Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and give him a foreign policy win in a midterm year.
The coming days and twists in the war, which the U.S. and Israel started together on Feb. 28, could have a lasting impact on their relationship.
Some experts say talk of a lasting rift is premature.
Mr. Netanyahu is hardly alone in facing cycles of ire and warmth from the U.S. leader.
“It’s almost like a game of musical chairs involving world leaders and Trump. When the music stops, no one wants to be in Trump’s crosshairs,” said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, adding it is the same dynamic with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others.
“Basically, Bibi will try to duck until another crisis hits and Trump gets annoyed at someone else,” Mr. Rubin said. “It’s the international relations equivalent of ’Hey, look! A squirrel!’”
Indeed, by Monday afternoon, Mr. Netanyahu was looking to patch things up with Mr. Trump.
He vowed to stop striking Iranian territory — for now — and said he consulted with the U.S. president, who had demanded a stop to the fighting hours earlier.
“I say this with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a video message explaining his recent actions.
Mr. Trump also insists he has a good relationship with the prime minister, even if he is annoyed with Mr. Netanyahu’s repeated forays into Lebanon to attack Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists. Iran says the assaults near Beirut violate a ceasefire that was agreed to weeks ago.
Mr. Trump insisted on Sunday that he and Mr. Netanyahu are on the same page.
“We get along very well. We’ve been great comrades. We did a very, very big number on a certain country that was nothing but trouble for 47 years. I disagree with him on a couple of things,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The following day, Mr. Trump flexed his muscle in getting Iran and Israel to stop fighting. He underscored his tough love for Israel with a social media post that mixed optimism with a warning.
“Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!” he said. “Final negotiations on ’Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”
Some experts say Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu were never that close, anyway, but found a way to benefit from each other’s outward friendship.
“I think the bromance has always been performative,” said Jeffrey Feltman, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former assistant U.S. secretary of state.
He compared it to the relationship between Mr. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They shared a close bond during Mr. Trump’s first term, even hosting rallies for each other in 2019 and 2020.
But this term, Mr. Modi declined to nominate Mr. Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, “and suddenly Modi is on the outs,” Mr. Feltman said.
For example, Mr. Trump ordered sky-high tariffs on goods from Mr. Modi’s country as punishment for buying Russian oil.
Mr. Feltman said recent friction might not doom Mr. Trump’s relationship with Mr. Netanyahu, particularly if it wasn’t that solemn of a bond from the start.
“These are two transactional people who largely found a way to work together,” he said.
The White House said on Monday that Mr. Trump “has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Israel has always been a great ally to the United States.”
“There has been no greater friend to Israel and a fighter for peace than President Trump. The Israel Defense Forces were incredible partners throughout Operation Epic Fury, which decimated the Iranian regime’s military capabilities in 38 short days,” assistant White House press secretary Olivia Wales said. “Americans and our allies around the world are already safer for the United States and Israel’s bold actions to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.