US President Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday that he is not frustrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appearing to downplay claims of a rift between the two leaders, saying that he understands Netanyahu’s anger with Hamas.
Trump visited the Middle East this week, skipping Israel but stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, leading government critics to warn Israel was being left out of Washington’s regional diplomatic initiatives as it continues the war in Gaza.
Asked by Fox News if he was frustrated by the prime minister, Trump responded: “No, look, he’s got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world — not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes.”
Trump claimed that the massacre in southern Israel by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, would have never happened under his watch, arguing that Iran had been broke under his first administration and would not have been able to fund the Palestinian terror group’s activities.
That attack, which sparked the ongoing war, killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages who were taken to Gaza. Of them, 57 are still held captive, 34 of whom are confirmed dead by Israel.
“Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he’s been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” Trumjp added, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
Trump has repeatedly denied reports of a rift between him and Netanyahu, insisting that his choice to not visit Israel during his trip to the region was not a snub, despite making several policy decisions made without Israeli input or against Israel’s wishes, such as the ongoing Iran nuclear talks, the decision to restore ties with and lift sanctions from Syria, and the ceasefire with the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
On Wednesday, Trump said his visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was “good for Israel,” adding that “having a relationship like I have with these countries… I think it’s very good for Israel.”
Netanyahu also denied the reported rift, calling his relationship with Trump “excellent.”
Despite the denials, Channel 13 reported last week that people in Netanyahu’s inner circle have expressed unusually harsh criticism toward the Trump administration in recent weeks.
“There’s chaos in the Trump administration — the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing,” said a senior figure close to the premier, according to the report.
“It’s not even clear if this has anything to do with us. Everything operates according to the president’s whims. Sometimes that works in our favor, and sometimes it doesn’t,” the source said.
Citing unnamed US officials, NBC reported last week that Netanyahu was growing increasingly frustrated with the US approach to Iran amid the nuclear talks, seemingly the largest point of contention between the two leaders.
Speaking to NBC, one US official said Israel was “worried about any deal” that the US could sign with Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions.
To that end, two US officials said Netanyahu has privately dismissed the negotiations as a waste of time, arguing that even if a deal is forged, Tehran would inevitably break it.
Israel would rather take action and strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, the report said, and believes that the opportunity to do so is shrinking further the longer talks continue.
Jerusalem is reportedly unhappy with the ongoing US-Iran talks, which are said to be developing into a largely similar framework to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, which was signed by then-US president Barack Obama and was panned at the time by Netanyahu as disastrous for Israel.
Under the terms being discussed, according to reports, Iran would limit stockpile size and centrifuge types, and dilute, export or seal its 60 percent uranium stock under unprecedented International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scrutiny, in exchange for substantial sanctions relief.
This approach has not aligned with Netanyahu’s longtime position, which is that Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons and is opposed to any talks that don’t lead Iran to agree to a “Libya-style agreement,” under which Tehran’s entire nuclear program — both military and civilian — would be dismantled completely.