Trump questions whether Netanyahu will run for reelection

President says war with Iran will be won “very shortly” while raising doubts about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump questioned whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will run again in Israel’s next election, while also saying an Israeli counterattack on Iran over the weekend was “unnecessary” but understandable.

The comments were reported by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, who said he spoke with Trump on Monday night before the president attended an NBA Finals game in New York.

Trump said it was “an open question” whether Netanyahu would continue in politics, according to Karl.

“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career. Does he want to continue? Because, you know, he’s a wartime prime minister,” Trump said. “We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister.”

He added: “That’s OK, just like I’m a wartime president.”

The remarks came amid continued US efforts to reach an agreement with Iran, and after recent exchanges of fire involving Israel, Iran and Iranian-backed forces.

Trump also described his recent phone call with Netanyahu over Israel’s response to Iran, saying he had directly urged the Israeli leader to avoid steps that could undermine negotiations with Tehran.

“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt the deal, but I said, ‘You have to use your own judgment.’ Just go out and use your own judgment, but I don’t want the deal to be hurt,” Trump said, according to Karl.

Trump said the Israeli counterattack Sunday was “unnecessary,” but added that he understood Israel’s reasoning.

“They wanted to show retribution,” he said. “When you get attacked, there really has to be retribution.”

The comments added to several days of public and private pressure by Trump on Netanyahu as Washington pursues a possible agreement with Iran.

Axios reported earlier that Trump told Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran after an Iranian missile attack, with a senior US official saying the administration wanted to give diplomacy more time.

Trump had warned Netanyahu that Israel could find itself fighting alone if it renewed war with Iran. “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” Trump was quoted as saying.

Trump also told the Financial Times that Netanyahu would have to accept any US-Iran deal reached by Washington.

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump said. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”

Netanyahu has publicly said he remains in contact with Trump but has not given a detailed account of their recent calls. In a statement Monday, he said Israel would hold off on further strikes if fire was contained, but warned that Israel would respond forcefully if Iran resumed attacks.

“If Iran makes the mistake of resuming attacks on us, we will respond with overwhelming force,” Netanyahu said.

The latest comments came as US forces carried out strikes on Iranian military sites after a US Army Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said it struck Iranian air-defense systems, ground-control stations and surveillance radar sites, calling the operation a response to recent attacks on US forces and commercial shipping.