US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the strikes on Iran, claiming that he warned one of his staunchest allies that he would otherwise be “on your own very soon”.
According to a report by Axios, which cited two Israeli officials, was preparing for the biggest wave of strikes on since April, with dozens of sensitive targets to be attacked on Monday. Trump called Netanyahu and asked him to stop the strikes.
“I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,'” Trump told the news outlet.
The report also quoted an Israeli source who said there were disagreements on the call, but it ended with Netanyahu agreeing to stand down if the Iranians didn’t attack. After the call, Netanyahu told his senior military commanders to cancel the strikes, the report added.
Israel and Iran stop firing, for now
Iran and Israel said Monday that hostilities between them had halted, after the two countries exchanged strikes that threatened to reignite the West Asia war.
Israeli Prime Minister announced that the “fire on that front is contained” hours after Tehran said it had stopped its military action.
Tehran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday over Israel’s ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel then struck back, . That triggered another round of Iranian missiles, before Tehran announced it would cease fire.
Iran has sought to tie its truce with the United States — in place since April 8 despite repeated attacks by both sides — to Israel’s war against , warning that attacks on Lebanon would force it to act.
Tehran said on Monday it would attack again if Israel persisted with its strikes in Lebanon, while Netanyahu warned in turn that should Iran “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force”.
Earlier, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz insisted that the campaign in Lebanon would carry on regardless and said Israel would strike the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut in retaliation for each attack on northern Israel by the militant group.
The contradiction between the US and Israel
According to the US and Israeli sources quoted by Axios, the recent events regarding the war with Iran were further proof that the strategic interests of Washington and Tel Aviv are diverging every day.
It seems more specifically true for the political interests of and Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Bibi needs the war to continue to stay politically alive in Israel, and Trump needs the war to end to stay politically alive in the US,” a US official quoted in the report said.
