Published on 6/21/2026
Israeli officials reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his ministers to refrain from personally criticizing US President Donald Trump, while tensions are escalating between Tel Aviv and Washington over dealings with Iran and Hezbollah.
The officials claimed – according to the Israeli website “I24 News” – that the Trump administration and his negotiating team misunderstand the ideology that drives Iran and Hezbollah.
According to the officials, Israel fears that Iran will exploit any potential agreement with the United States to rebuild its economy and enhance its military capabilities, in exchange for making limited concessions on its nuclear program and support for its allies in the region.
The state of dissatisfaction increased within Israeli political and security circles with the way President Trump handled the Iranian and Lebanese files after Washington reached a memorandum of understanding with Tehran.
Public exchange
A state of disagreement emerged publicly between American and Israeli officials, as the right-wing Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, said last Monday that “the Trump agreement does not bind us.”
He pointed out that Israel is not affiliated with the United States, stressing that Tel Aviv is not a partner in this agreement, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the agreement is bad for Israel, calling on Israel to continue the campaign itself against Iran.
On the other hand, Trump said in an interview with Axios last Thursday that without him, Israel would have been razed to the ground, stressing that Israel has a lot of respect for him and will do what he says.
In other statements, Trump acknowledged his disagreement with Netanyahu, and advised him to be “calm” and rational in Lebanon, where he said that Israel was doing a bad job there, in reference to the continuation of its attacks.
Also last Thursday, US Vice President J.D. Vance strongly criticized members of the Israeli government who attacked the understanding between Washington and Tehran, saying that two-thirds of the weapons that recently protected Israel were made by American hands and funded by American taxpayers.
He said that he does not trust any country, including Israel, when it comes to international relations and diplomacy. He later acknowledged – in other statements – that Israel seeks to influence American policy, calling on American leaders to be very careful about whether they are seeking to achieve an agenda that serves the interests of the United States or the interests of another country.
Yesterday, Saturday, the Washington Post quoted American officials as saying that American intelligence agencies had warned the Trump administration that Netanyahu might take steps that would undermine efforts to reach a permanent peace agreement with Iran.
On June 14, Iran and the United States announced that they had reached a 14-item agreement known as the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” which stipulates stopping the war and addressing differences between the two sides through negotiations.
The agreement was digitally signed last Wednesday by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump, and includes provisions related to ending the war on several fronts, including Lebanon, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and lifting the US naval blockade imposed on Iran.
