Trump's "Peacemaking" Behind the Scenes: Netanyahu Needs the War to Continue, Trump Does the Opposite

Odaily reported, citing Axios, that over the past 24 hours, Trump has been working hard to avoid a full-scale restart of the war. He faces a dilemma: on one hand, he understands that Netanyahu can hardly ignore Iran's missile attacks; on the other hand, he fears that this cycle of retaliation could escalate into a full-scale war. Netanyahu's logic is that if he does not retaliate against Iran, it would signal to the world that Iran has the upper hand and can deter the US and Israel from taking military action. At the end of the call in which Trump urged Netanyahu not to retaliate, the latter had not made a clear decision. Some US officials involved in the call believe that Trump successfully bought more time. However, Netanyahu believes that, although Trump opposes retaliatory strikes, "this was not a clear 'don't do it' statement." According to US and Israeli sources, the events of the past 24 hours provide further evidence that the strategic interests of the US and Israel, as well as the political interests of Trump and Netanyahu, are increasingly diverging. One US official stated: "Netanyahu needs the war to continue in order to survive politically in Israel; while Trump needs the war to end in order to survive politically in the United States." (Jinshi Data)