Trump Warns Netanyahu: “I Set the Rules” — Demands Israel Hold Back After Iranian Fire
After Iran resumed missile fire toward Israel, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Tehran to stop the escalation and return to the negotiating table, while also making clear that he intends to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said Netanyahu “will have to accept” an American deal with Iran: “I decide. He doesn’t decide.”
U.S. President Donald Trump sharpened his message toward both Israel and Iran following the renewed Iranian missile fire toward Israel and growing concerns over another major regional escalation.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have no choice but to accept an agreement negotiated by Washington with Tehran.
“I set the rules. I decide everything. He does not decide,” Trump said, according to the report. He stressed that the latest attacks do not change his desire to finalize a deal with Iran.
Earlier, Trump told Axios that he intended to speak with Netanyahu and urge him not to respond militarily to the Iranian attack.
Trump said he hoped Israel would avoid retaliation, warning that another Israeli strike could continue the cycle of escalation.
At the same time, Trump also sent a message to Iran, calling on Tehran to stop firing and return to negotiations.
Following the Iranian missile launches, the president said his message to Tehran was: “You fired your missiles. That’s enough. Go back to the table and make a deal.” He added that Iran’s missile attack “certainly will not help the negotiations.”
Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with the earlier Israeli strike in Beirut. Asked about the Israeli operation in Lebanon, he said he was “not pleased” with it, and reports indicated that the strike had not been coordinated with him in advance.
The unusually direct comments come as Washington is pushing to reach an agreement with Iran, while tensions grow between the United States and Israel over Israel’s freedom of action against Iran and Hezbollah.
According to the reports, Trump believes talks with Tehran have advanced significantly and that a possible agreement could take shape in the coming days.
In Israel, meanwhile, the defense establishment is preparing for the possibility of a response following the Iranian missile fire. But the public American message places Netanyahu under heavy diplomatic pressure: avoid another military response - and accept the framework of the deal Washington is seeking with Iran.