Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have no choice but to accept any deal the US reaches with Tehran, President Donald Trump has said, declaring that he “calls the shots.”
Trump made the remarks in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, shortly after Iran fired a missile barrage at Israel in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Beirut. Tehran described the attack as a warning and threatened “crushing blows” if Israel continues its strikes in Lebanon or retaliates against Iran.
RT reports: Earlier, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without issuing the warnings it typically gives before attacks in densely populated areas. The strike on a residential building killed at least two people and wounded 20 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Trump said the Iranian missile strikes would not affect his push for a nuclear deal with Tehran. Iran has said a deal with the US must include a permanent Israeli ceasefire, effectively requiring Israel to end its attacks against Lebanon.
“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told outlet, referring to Netanyahu. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”
“It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” Trump said regarding the Iranian attack, adding that the missile barrage caused little damage. “We’ll see how it ends up. But they were attacks that did not hit at all.”
Trump’s remarks come days after Axios reported the details of a heated call between the two leaders, citing a US official as saying Trump told Netanyahu: “You’re f**king crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” Trump later confirmed the call took place and did not dispute Axios’ characterization of the exchange.
Despite several US-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefires, including one that took effect last week, Israel has continued to strike targets in Lebanon almost daily in a sign of Washington’s limited ability to restrain its closest Middle East ally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Trump’s decision to halt the hostilities, calling it “the only correct one” and expressing hope that the truce will lead to a lasting peace.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week, Putin said he saw no Iranian provocation that would justify US-Israeli attacks.