Published on 6/15/2026
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Last update: 10:31 (Mecca time)
“A decline in coordination, American restrictions on the ground, and demands for a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal.” These are the broad outlines of the new phase of relations between Washington and Tel Aviv, in light of leaks about American conditions, matched by an Israeli effort to impose special conditions and fears of restricting the work of the Israeli army in the Lebanese arena.
Tensions between the two parties exploded publicly on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump directed sharp criticism at Israel following the Israeli army attack in Beirut, considering that the attack “should not have happened,” describing Hezbollah’s attack as “very small and insignificant,” according to the Hebrew newspaper Maariv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump – during a phone call – that Israel does not consider itself committed to the Lebanese clause in the US-Iranian agreement.
Netanyahu explained to the US President that the Israeli army will not withdraw from Lebanon, will remain in the locations 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.
On the other hand, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv quoted two Israeli sources as saying that in one of the recent conversations with Netanyahu, Trump raised the issue of the Israeli presence in Lebanon and in the Syrian Mount Hermon.
According to these estimates, withdrawal from all five points controlled by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, in addition to leaving the Syrian Mount Hermon, was put on the table, within the framework of broader understandings that include an absolute ceasefire and a cessation of offensive military activity.
The Israeli source confirms that Trump has already and effectively restricted Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon, and the most important meaning that Tel Aviv seeks to establish – according to the sources – is that the agreement between Washington and Tehran does not restrict the hand of the Israeli army in the Lebanese arena.
In previous statements by Trump, he said that he asked Netanyahu, “What is this damned thing you are doing in Lebanon?”, and informed him of his anger at the attack on Beirut.
Trump also questioned the motives of the attack, saying that Hezbollah “fired in the open and did not harm anyone,” and then Israel attacked Beirut specifically, stressing that it conveyed its message clearly and that Netanyahu “does not have any sense of wisdom.”
A rift in the “united front”
The recent public confrontation between Trump and Netanyahu contrasts with the unified position at the beginning of the war against Iran, as the two were keen at the time to show full coordination, but in the recent period a series of public disagreements have been recorded, especially against the backdrop of Trump’s efforts to reach an end to the fighting and reduce regional escalation.
According to the Israeli source, US President Netanyahu ordered last week to cancel offensive plans against Iran, after Tehran fired missiles towards Israel for the first time since the ceasefire in April.
In parallel, Netanyahu requests an urgent meeting with Trump and is trying to coordinate the meeting after the US President returns from the G7 summit in Europe next weekend. The meeting aims – according to Maariv sources – to clarify Israel’s position to Trump regarding the ongoing talks, especially with regard to Iran and Israel’s freedom to move in Lebanon, in addition to exploiting the meeting to influence the formulation of understandings.
Regarding the dimensions of the agreement between Tehran and Washington regarding the Israeli interior, Maariv says that the Israelis fear that the agreement will reduce the economic pressure on Tehran, without dealing concretely with the nuclear issue.
From Israel’s point of view, such an outcome may lead to the stability of the Iranian regime precisely at the stage that requires continuing to weaken it.
American and Israeli security experts point out that there is a real and growing mistrust between Trump and his advisors towards the “elusive” Netanyahu. On the other hand, Iran seeks to test and deepen this friction and isolate Israel from Washington, in parallel with supporting its proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, according to the Washington Post.
Despite Netanyahu’s cautious secrecy about these tensions, American analyzes indicate that Trump has imposed raw force on Israel in recent days in a way that no other president has done in decades.
