▲ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump has shared an article on social media suggesting that the political future of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lies in his hands.
This is interpreted as President Trump putting pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to exercise restraint, amid rising tensions caused by Israel's airstrikes on Lebanon around the time of the signing of an end-of-war memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran.
On June 20 (local time), President Trump shared an article from the U.S. online media outlet "Just the News" on his social media platform Truth Social, titled "Netanyahu's Shaky Re-election Chances, Trump Holds the Cards."
The article noted that President Trump said in an interview with an Israeli media outlet, "We have to see who is running (in the Israeli election). I have a good relationship with Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname), but he needs to be more rational."
It also mentioned that while President Trump said he is "most likely" to support Netanyahu, he also referenced Netanyahu's rivals, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and lawmaker Gadi Eisenkot.
President Trump's sharing of the article is an extension of his recent public criticism targeting Israel's military operations.
While negotiations to end the war between the U.S. and Iran were actively underway, Israel threw cold water on the talks by bombing Lebanon, targeting the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
In response, President Trump reportedly called Prime Minister Netanyahu earlier this month and scolded him, using profanity, asking "What on earth are you doing?", and calling him "crazy" and "ungrateful."
In particular, President Trump reportedly criticized him, saying, "If it weren't for me, you would have been in jail."
This appears to refer to the political support he provided to Netanyahu, who is currently on trial for corruption charges.
Israel continued its airstrikes on Lebanon even after the U.S. and Iran signed the end-of-war MOU, further upsetting President Trump.
Consequently, citing Israel's airstrikes on Lebanon, Iran abruptly canceled the opening of the Strait of Hormuz—a key provision of the end-of-war MOU—on June 20, putting pressure on the United States.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the relationship between the two leaders has deteriorated irreversibly as the White House seeks a diplomatic exit strategy to end the conflict with Iran.
The WSJ, citing sources, reported that Netanyahu demanded stronger military action against Iran during every phone call, which left President Trump feeling fatigued.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing his greatest political crisis since taking office.
There are observations that he could lose power in the general election scheduled for this October.
Netanyahu has already been indicted in three criminal trials on corruption charges, and his trials, which had been temporarily suspended due to the wartime state, resumed last April.
He also faces strong criticism over security failures for failing to prevent Hamas's surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and abducted about 250 others.
Inside and outside Israel, suspicions are gaining traction that Netanyahu has no choice but to persist with the war due to his corruption trials.
Indeed, Netanyahu has tended to use the security crisis as a means to contain his legal risks, such as postponing his corruption trials.
If Netanyahu stops the war against Hezbollah, the ruling coalition that put him in power is highly likely to collapse, leading to his loss of power and a rapid acceleration of his prosecution.
Leaders of the far-right factions allied with Netanyahu have consistently opposed any compromise with Hezbollah, which is considered a security threat to Israel, as well as withdrawal from occupied territories in Lebanon.
President Trump's recent pressure on Netanyahu, claiming that he avoided jail time thanks to him, is interpreted as being closely related to this situation.
Ahead of follow-up negotiations for the end-of-war agreement between the U.S. and Iran, President Trump's pressure appears to be intensifying to control the variable that is Israel.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.