One wants to negotiate, the other wants to fight! Trump lashes out at Netanyahu, making US-Israel differences public.

The leaders of the US and Israel once jointly launched a war against Iran, but now they are openly falling out over how to bring it to a close.

According to a June 1 report from Axios cited by Xinhua, Trump used profanity during a call with Netanyahu regarding Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The article cited two sources who said Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" and accused him of being ungrateful, claiming he had helped Netanyahu avoid jail in his corruption case.

The two had two phone calls that day; the second call was "more tense," with Trump unhappy about Netanyahu implying that the war would continue on all fronts except for a postponed attack on Beirut. Netanyahu, meanwhile, was frustrated by Trump’s social media posts suggesting Israel had ceased fire across all fronts.

Media reports said Trump became increasingly loud on the call, angrily demanding that Netanyahu obey, "or without White House support, you'll go to prison." Netanyahu faces ongoing corruption trials in Israel, and Trump has repeatedly called for his pardon.

A staffer from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office later told Israeli media that Netanyahu was not "insulted," but admitted the calls were "tense."

Beirut strike plan halted, Netanyahu besieged at home

The trigger for the incident was Israel's plan to launch a massive airstrike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut. On Monday morning, Netanyahu announced he had ordered the military to bomb targets in Lebanon’s capital as retaliation for Hezbollah’s drone attack on northern Israel.

However, after the call, the Israeli military did not carry out the order. Trump then posted on his Truth Social platform: "Israel has turned the army around." He wrote: "(Hezbollah) agreed to stop firing at Israel and its soldiers, and Israel also agreed to stop firing at them. Hope this lasts forever!"

According to media reports, this "capitulation" triggered strong backlash within Israel, with criticism coming from all political factions.

Right-wing former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Netanyahu of "losing control of Israeli sovereignty." The largest opposition party, "Yesh Atid" leader Yair Lapid, slammed Netanyahu for leading Israel into becoming a "vassal state." Centrist "Integrity Party" leader Gadi Eisenkot wrote on X: "Israel has never had a prime minister accept such a humiliating demand."

Criticism even came from within Netanyahu’s own far-right coalition. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly urged Netanyahu to ignore Trump’s demands, citing Netanyahu’s own words against him: "You once said a tough prime minister says 'yes' to the US president when possible, but 'no' when necessary. Now is the time to say 'no' to our friend President Trump."

The divide: one wants dialogue, one wants war

Media analysis pointed out that this quarrel reflects the fundamental divergence between the two countries on the outcome of the war.

Trump faces multiple pressures: the war has pushed up energy prices, the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, cracks have appeared within the MAGA movement—people like Tucker Carlson have begun to question US support for Israel. Trump is eager for a diplomatic agreement, with core demands being reopening the Strait of Hormuz, addressing Iran’s enriched uranium, and ending the conflict. Treasury Secretary Besent previously stated that the prerequisites for an agreement with Iran are exactly those two points.

Netanyahu, by contrast, faces domestic pressure. Hezbollah’s drone attacks continue to inflict casualties on Israeli soldiers; northern Israeli residents are repeatedly forced into air raid shelters; polls show most Israelis support tougher actions against Hezbollah.

Iran quickly seized on this divide. According to reports, Iranian state media announced on Monday that due to Israel's military escalation in Lebanon and Gaza, Iran had suspended talks with the US on extending the ceasefire. Iran has always insisted that only if an agreement includes a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will it agree to prolong its own ceasefire with the US.

US Secretary of State Rubio said in a congressional hearing that the US was working to handle Israel-Lebanon and Iran negotiations separately. He said, "We're trying to treat the Lebanon-Israel talks as a stand-alone matter, whereas Iran wants to lump everything together."

Trump subsequently stated that negotiations with Iran "are proceeding at a fast pace," and told ABC News he expected an agreement with Tehran "within the next week" to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Israel continued airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The tacit agreement—Hezbollah stops attacking Israel, Israel refrains from attacking Beirut—does not cover southern Lebanon, where fighting persists.

This is Trump’s war, not Netanyahu’s

Danny Citrinowicz, former Israeli military intelligence officer and senior researcher at the National Security Institute in Tel Aviv, told the Wall Street Journal, "I think there are major differences between the two sides. Trump wants to exhaust all diplomatic avenues, he doesn't want any spoilers."

He put it more bluntly: "This is Trump’s battlefield, not Netanyahu’s."

Their relationship wasn’t always so tense. Three months ago, the US and Israel jointly launched attacks on Iran with "unprecedented coordination"—US refueling planes supported Israeli operations, both sides closely collaborated in military planning, and openly shared goals for striking Iran’s nuclear program and undermining its regional threat capabilities.

But as Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz and energy prices rose, Washington’s priorities shifted towards a diplomatic resolution. According to reports, after another tough call late last month, Trump publicly praised Netanyahu as a "wartime leader," but immediately added, "He’ll do as I say."

On June 2nd, at the handover ceremony for the new Mossad director, Netanyahu took a tough stance. According to Xinhua, he called Iran’s regime a "terror regime destined to disappear from the world," and said Israel would "help achieve this goal," so Iran could no longer threaten Israel with "nuclear bombs and thousands of deadly ballistic missiles."

The two leaders’ public statements point in completely opposite directions.

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