Deepening US-Israel Disputes: Trump’s Attempts to Dissuade a Retaliation Fail, Netanyahu Insists on Retaliation

BlockBeats News, June 9th, according to Axios reports, Trump has been working to prevent a full-scale restart of the war in the past 24 hours. He is caught in a dilemma: on one hand, he understands that Netanyahu is almost impossible to ignore Iran's missile attacks; on the other hand, he worries that this cycle of retaliation could escalate into a full-scale war.

Netanyahu's logic is that if there is no retaliation against Iran, it will send a signal to the outside world that Iran has the upper hand and can deter the US and Israel from taking military action. When Trump finished a call advising Netanyahu not to retaliate, the latter did not make a clear decision. Some US officials involved in the call believe that Trump successfully gained more time. But Netanyahu believes that although Trump opposes retaliatory strikes, "this is not a clear statement of 'don't do it.'"

Sources from the US and Israel say that the events of the past 24 hours further demonstrate that the strategic interests of the US and Israel, as well as the political interests of Trump and Netanyahu, are increasingly diverging. An American official said, "Netanyahu needs the war to continue in order to maintain his political life in Israel; while Trump needs the war to end in order to maintain his political life in the US."