▲ Netanyahu, Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was preparing for a large-scale airstrike on Iran, that he would "be left all alone if he is not careful," the U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on June 8 (local time).
According to Axios, President Trump expressed frustration after Israel attacked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on June 7, targeting the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah, fearing it would negatively impact a ceasefire agreement.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles at Israel as previously warned.
As the situation escalated, President Trump called Prime Minister Netanyahu on the evening of June 7 and demanded that he stop the attacks on Iran.
The phone call was reportedly much calmer than the one that took place on June 1.
It was reported that during the June 1 call, President Trump yelled at and expressed anger toward Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The call ended without Prime Minister Netanyahu providing a clear conclusion.
While the U.S. side expected the Prime Minister to back down, it is said that Netanyahu interpreted the conversation as, "Although President Trump opposed it, he did not firmly tell me not to do it."
However, as the situation did not calm down and the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran continued on the morning of June 8, the ceasefire reached a point of jeopardy.
President Trump called Prime Minister Netanyahu again and pressured him once more to stop the attacks on Iran.
CNN reported that the call was made just hours after the previous one.
In an interview with Axios, President Trump said, "I told him, 'Bibi, you better be careful. Otherwise, you're going to be all alone very soon.'"
"Bibi" is a nickname for Prime Minister Netanyahu.
This served as a strong warning from President Trump that U.S. cooperation could be cut off if Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to jeopardize the ceasefire negotiations through his ongoing conflict with Iran.
President Trump stated that he received calls from five Gulf nations urging him to pressure the Prime Minister to halt the airstrikes, adding, "These countries were very worried. They really like the deal we have been negotiating."
He also claimed that Iran contacted the U.S. and sent a message saying, "(We) will not attack anymore, and please tell Israel not to attack (Iran) anymore."
In the interview, President Trump argued, "This deal will prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and stop uranium enrichment," adding, "It is a tremendous deal, and we have obtained everything we wanted."
Ultimately, Prime Minister Netanyahu, having received the strong warning from President Trump, halted the airstrikes on Iran.
Citing Israeli officials, Axios reported that Israel had originally planned to strike dozens of sensitive targets in Iran on this day, and the scale of the airstrikes was set to be the largest since April.
While President Trump wants to reach a ceasefire agreement with Iran as quickly as possible, Prime Minister Netanyahu does not want to end the war under the current circumstances.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.