Netanyahu Bars Israeli Cabinet Ministers from Criticizing Trump Amid Tensions
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, based on data published by Mehr News Agency and cited by Al Jazeera, Israeli officials have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his ministers to refrain from criticizing United States President Donald Trump. This directive comes at a time when, according to Western media claims, tensions are escalating between Tel Aviv and Washington regarding the approach to Iran and Hezbollah.
The Israeli website “i24NEWS” reported that the Trump administration and its negotiating team misunderstand the ideology driving Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli officials expressed concern that Iran might leverage any potential agreement with the United States to rebuild its economy and bolster its military capabilities, while offering limited concessions on its nuclear program and support for its regional allies.
Al Jazeera reported an increase in dissatisfaction within Israeli political and security circles regarding the Trump administration’s management of Iran and Lebanon dossiers, following Washington’s achievement of a memorandum of understanding with Tehran. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, stated last Monday that “Trump’s agreement is not binding on us.” He continued, asserting that Israel is not subordinate to the United States and that Tel Aviv is not a partner to the agreement. Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right minister, also described the agreement as detrimental to Israel and urged the country to continue its fight against Iran independently.
Conversely, Trump stated in an interview with Axios that without him, Israel would have been “leveled.” In other remarks, Trump acknowledged his differences with Netanyahu and advised him to be “calm and rational” in Lebanon, describing ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon as “bad.”
