Published on 6/15/2026
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not appear to be what it was before, as international newspapers indicate that the former no longer depends his fate on the latter as it was in a previous period.
The French newspaper Le Monde indicated that the changes witnessed in the US-Iranian negotiations during the past hours have made Israel more isolated and exposed to criticism than ever before.
In addition to what the newspaper describes as a double strategic defeat, Israel faces the risk of losing its strategic American ally even more now that Trump no longer depends his fate on Netanyahu’s fate, as it was before.
Radical transformation
The Washington Post did not differ much from Le Monde, but it addressed the issue from the perspective of Trump turning to ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz through negotiations instead of adhering to eliminating the Iranian political leadership.
The American President retracted the decision to change the leadership and turn to negotiations, “stopping the war and restoring stability to shipping traffic, but he preserved the Iranian regime, and left the nuclear file and other issues subject to further negotiation,” as the newspaper says.
Israel has always considered and declared explicitly that ending Iran’s nuclear and ballistic issues must be a primary goal of any possible agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Therefore, experts believe that this shift in the US President’s position “will remain controversial, although many believe that stopping the war and opening the Strait is better than continuing the fighting.”
Disagreement erupts
This is not the first time that Trump and Netanyahu’s disagreement has become public, as the two men had a sharp phone call earlier this month, which witnessed a sharp disagreement between what each of them wanted in Lebanon.
Recent weeks have witnessed a decline in coordination between the United States and Israel, as the American desire for important files collides with Israeli conditions through which it wants to unleash its military hand in Lebanon, Gaza, and perhaps Iran as well.
Tensions between the two parties exploded publicly after the American President directed sharp criticism at Israel, during a call he had with Netanyahu yesterday, Sunday, in the wake of its attack on Beirut, which he said “should not have happened.”
During this call, Netanyahu told Trump that Israel “does not consider itself committed to the Lebanese clause in the US-Iranian agreement,” and that the Israeli army “will not withdraw from Lebanon.”
Not only that, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army “will remain in the positions where it is located, and will continue to work to thwart the threat from Hezbollah, including destroying terrorist infrastructure and responding to any attack against Israel.”
