Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent recent weeks trying to convince President Donald Trump not to rush into a deal with Iran, warning against relying on commitments from the regime in Tehran. That’s according to a detailed Wall Street Journal report revealing sharp disagreements between the two leaders over how to handle Iran’s nuclear program.
2+According to the report, while Trump pushed to advance understandings with Iran and end the military confrontation, Netanyahu kept presenting him with a series of reservations and concerns. In one conversation, the prime minister asked the American president how he intended to ensure Iran would actually honor its commitments under a future agreement. In other calls, Netanyahu reportedly reminded Trump of Iran’s past deception attempts and warned against trusting its promises.
The report also said Jerusalem was surprised by the ceasefire announcement and the rapid progress toward a deal between Washington and Tehran. Israeli officials had assessed that Trump was leaning toward continued military pressure on Iran, and had even prepared for the possibility of additional strikes against targets in the country.
2+According to the report, Netanyahu encouraged the American administration to keep pressuring Iran and not rush to grant it significant relief. Among other things, he expressed support for continuing measures that would damage the Iranian economy and warned that a deal without tight monitoring mechanisms could allow Tehran to advance secretly toward nuclear weapons.
The Wall Street Journal claimed that at one point Netanyahu requested an urgent meeting with Trump after learning the White House was moving toward signing a deal, and that senior Israeli officials received a draft of the understandings for review only days later.
2+Despite the disagreements, the White House emphasized that relations between Trump and Netanyahu remain close and that cooperation between the countries continues. Still, the report points to significant gaps between Washington and Jerusalem over how to deal with Iran and whether to favor a diplomatic agreement or continued military and economic pressure on the regime in Tehran.