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

Odaily Planet Daily News According to Axios reports, Trump has been working hard over the past 24 hours to prevent a full-scale restart of the war. He is in a dilemma: on one hand, he understands that Netanyahu can hardly ignore the missile attack from Iran; on the other hand, he fears that this cycle of retaliation could escalate into a full-blown war. Netanyahu's logic is that if there is no retaliation against Iran, it would send a signal to the outside world that Iran has the upper hand and can deter the US and Israel from taking military action. When Trump's call persuading Netanyahu not to retaliate ended, the latter had not made a clear decision. Some US officials involved in the call believe that Trump successfully bought more time. But Netanyahu believes that although Trump is opposed to retaliatory strikes, "this is not an explicit 'don't do it' statement." US and Israeli sources indicated that the events of the past 24 hours have further proven 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 to maintain his political life in Israel; while Trump needs the war to end to maintain his political life in the US." (Jin Shi)