War strains Trump-Netanyahu alliance

Israel’s latest strikes in Lebanon and Iran have underscored a growing rift between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump had publicly cautioned Israel against striking Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. However, following Israel’s Sunday strike, Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire, triggering Israeli retaliatory strikes on Iran, even as Trump continued weeks of high-level negotiations with Tehran.

Although the immediate fighting has since subsided, the underlying disagreements between the two leaders are likely to remain.

Before the strikes early yesterday, Trump had called for an immediate halt to the fighting. Shortly after that, Iran’s military announced a suspension of offensive strikes, warning that any further aggression would provoke “much more severe” measures than before.

Netanyahu issued a similar warning in a recorded statement, though he said Israel would press ahead with its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.