President Donald Trump told the New York Times that Prime Minister Netanyahu is 'a very difficult guy' and that IDF strikes on Iran nearly caused the agreement to collapse. Trump asserted that without US action to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, 'Israel would no longer exist within two hours.' The remarks escalate an unusually direct public clash between the two leaders during the final phases of the US-Iran nuclear deal.
President Donald Trump's interview with the New York Times, published Monday, adds a direct accusation to his attacks on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Israeli strikes on Iran 'almost caused the collapse' of the nuclear agreement. The charge, reported at 06:05 Jerusalem in earlier Zioneer bulletins from the same interview, sharpens the sequence of Trump's public criticism of Netanyahu that began overnight.
Trump's remarks have escalated through multiple reports since just after midnight Jerusalem. At 00:07 Monday, The Zioneer reported that Trump told Netanyahu in a phone call he was determined to finalize the deal. By 02:22, a series of stories showed Trump calling Netanyahu 'a very difficult guy' or 'a very tough man,' saying Israel should thank the US for the deal, and claiming 'Israel would not survive two hours' against a nuclear-armed Iran — reports attributed initially to an Israeli outlet (N12) and later to the New York Times directly. The new dispatch adds the specific claim that IDF operations nearly derailed the agreement.
Earlier context from The Zioneer on June 9 (20:24 Jerusalem) noted that Trump told Netanyahu days ago that a deal was imminent. By 02:47 Monday, The Zioneer also reported Trump confirming the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade on Iran and calling Netanyahu 'a very tough man' for the Dahiyeh strikes.
The interview does not specify which Israeli strikes Trump references. The assertion that strikes 'almost caused the agreement to collapse' remains attributed only to Trump, not independently verified.
5 developments
- ConfirmedTrump tells Netanyahu US and Iran days from nuclear deal breakthrough, NYT reports
- DevelopingTrump boasts that a nuclear-armed Iran would have destroyed Israel within two hours
- StrongTrump attacks Netanyahu, confirms lifting of US blockade on Iran 'immediately'
- DevelopingTrump says Netanyahu is a 'very tough man'; Iran claims ceasefire includes Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake