The U.S.-Iran agreement has set Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a “collision course” with President Donald Trump, according to a report published on Monday.
A Major Rift Brewing?
An Israeli official told Reuters that the preliminary agreement is “terrible” for Israel and no one in the country’s leadership views it otherwise.
Notably, Trump described Netanyahu as a “very difficult guy” in a New York Times interview on Sunday, adding that the Israeli leader should be “thankful” to the U.S. for preventing a possible nuclear attack from Iran.
But this is not the first time Trump has expressed his displeasure with Netanyahu’s actions. Earlier this month, he reportedly called Netanyahu “crazy” over Israel’s attacks in Lebanon in an “expletive-laden call.”
Netanyahu also acknowledged differences with Trump at a Monday press conference, saying, “We many times see eye-to-eye, and there are times when we see eye-to-eye less.
The Lebanon Question
A deal between the U.S. and Iran is expected to be signed this Friday in Switzerland. Pakistan, the mediator, stated the agreement would permanently end military operations on every front—including Lebanon.
However, Netanyahu said that Israel would maintain forces in southern Lebanon and retain the right to respond to attacks by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy.
Moreover, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has warned that if Iran were to attack Israel due to the events in Lebanon, Israel would retaliate “with full force.”
Will Trump Brazenly Insult Netanyahu?
Prediction markets now expect a uglier clash between Trump and Netanyahu.
Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket showed a 40% chance that Trump will publicly insult or mock Netanyahu before June 30, up from 17% a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the chances that the Israeli leader would insult Trump remained low at only 5% as of this writing.
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