US attacks Iran: How Trump rejoined ‘team’ Netanyahu

As United States President Donald Trump addressed the satellite connected the strikes launched by his country’s subject against three cardinal Iranian atomic sites successful the aboriginal hours connected Sunday, helium thanked respective radical and institutions.

The US military, combatant pilots who dropped the bombs, and a wide were among those connected his list. So was 1 idiosyncratic who is not American, and with whom Trump has had a topsy-turvy relationship: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump besides said Netanyahu and helium had worked similar “perhaps nary squad has ever worked before”. Those laudatory comments correspond a stark opposition from the acold much crude connection that Trump utilized for the Israeli person conscionable 4 years ago, and their nationalist hostility implicit Iran little than a period ago.

We way Trump’s often-love and sometimes-hate narration with Netanyahu:

What did Trump accidental astir Netanyahu?

In his televised code connected Sunday, during the aboriginal greeting hours successful the Middle East, Trump thanked and congratulated Netanyahu. “I privation to convey and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu,” helium said, referring to a sanction the Israeli PM is wide known by.

“We worked arsenic a squad similar possibly nary squad has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a agelong mode to erasing this horrible menace to Israel,” Trump said, referring to Iran’s atomic facilities.

“I privation to convey the Israeli subject for the fantastic occupation they’ve done,” Trump said, adding praise for the US forces.

Trump warned Iran to judge what helium described arsenic “peace” but what efficaciously amounts to the surrender of its atomic programme, connected US terms.

“If they bash not, aboriginal attacks volition beryllium acold greater and a batch easier,” he said. Meanwhile, Israel remains the lone state successful the Middle East with a atomic arsenal, though it has ne'er officially acknowledged it.

The US strikes travel 9 days of Israeli rocket attacks against Iran, including connected its atomic facilities. Israel did not person the bombs needed to harm oregon destruct Iran’s astir secretive atomic tract successful Fordow, buried heavy wrong a mountain.  The US, utilizing its bunker-buster bombs, deed Fordow arsenic good arsenic the facilities successful Natanz and Isfahan connected Sunday.

Trump’s determination to align himself with Netanyahu successful bringing the US into the warfare with Iran has divided his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) enactment base.

What did Netanyahu accidental astir Trump?

After Trump announced the strikes and appreciated the Israeli leader, Netanyahu responded with warmer words than the ones the US president had utilized for him.

“President Trump, your bold determination to people Iran’s atomic facilities with the awesome and righteous mightiness of the United States volition alteration history,” Netanyahu said successful a recorded video statement.

He further said, “In tonight’s enactment against Iran’s atomic facilities, America has been genuinely unsurpassed. It has done what nary different state connected Earth could do.”

“History volition grounds that President Trump acted to contradict the world’s astir unsafe authorities the world’s astir unsafe weapons,” said Netanyahu.

The main of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has publically said it does not judge that Iran was gathering a atomic weapon, an appraisal shared by US quality agencies, which besides drew the aforesaid decision earlier this year.

However, Trump has successful caller days said his hand-picked spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, and the quality community’s appraisal were “wrong”.

Trump’s “leadership contiguous has created a pivot of past that tin assistance pb the Middle East and beyond to a aboriginal of prosperity and peace”, Netanyahu said successful this statement.

“President Trump and I often say: ‘Peace done strength’. First comes strength, past comes peace. And tonight, Donald Trump and the United States acted with a batch of strength,” concluded Netanyahu.

How were their ties during Trump’s archetypal term?

Netanyahu enjoyed a close relationship with Trump during his archetypal word successful bureau from 2017 to 2021.

Trump recognised Jerusalem arsenic Israel’s superior and moved the US embassy determination from Tel Aviv, a long-sought symbolic triumph for Netanyahu that strengthened his representation domestically. Trump appointed an ambassador who was ideologically aligned with Israel’s settler movement, David Friedman, successful May 2017.

In March 2019, the US president besides recognised Israeli sovereignty implicit the occupied Golan Heights, becoming the lone satellite person to backmost Israel’s annexation of the portion that is recognised internationally arsenic a portion of Syria.

In September 2020, Trump hosted the signing of the Abraham Accords, which led to normalisation of relations betwixt Israel and 4 Arab states – Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan.

Trump formally withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — commonly known arsenic the Iran atomic woody — successful May 2018, done a statesmanlike proclamation that reinstated US sanctions against Iran.

This marked a large displacement from the erstwhile US argumentation of implementing the JCPOA successful January 2016 to curb Iran’s atomic programme successful speech for sanctions relief. Trump declared the woody “defective astatine its core”, claiming it offered insufficient assurances and failed to code Iran’s rocket programme and determination activities.

Why did Trump sour connected Netanyahu?

In a December 2021 Axios interrogation with Israeli writer Barak Ravid, Trump revealed that his narration with Netanyahu deteriorated aft the Israeli PM publically congratulated incoming President Joe Biden connected his 2020 predetermination triumph — a nonaccomplishment that Trump has refused to accept.

“The archetypal idiosyncratic that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the antheral that I did much for than immoderate different idiosyncratic I dealt with. Bibi could person stayed quiet. He has made a unspeakable mistake,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “And not lone did helium congratulate him, helium did it connected tape.”

“F*** him,” Trump said, expressing his anger.

How person their ties been since?

While the incoming Trump medication initially claimed to broker a ceasefire successful the Gaza Strip, with immoderate observers noting that helium whitethorn rein successful the Israeli subject campaign, it soon rallied down Netanyahu’s continuing genocidal run against the Palestinian people.

In a joint quality conference successful February this year, Trump wildly projected that the US should “take over” the Gaza Strip, redevelop it, and relocate Palestinians⁠ — a program that Netanyahu publically endorsed arsenic “nothing wrong”.

Netanyahu besides said helium was “committed to US President Trump’s program for the instauration of a antithetic Gaza”. Later that month, the US approved $2.5bn worthy of arms income to Israel, including bombs and drones.

In March, Israel resumed large aerial attacks successful Gaza aft negotiations implicit the merchandise of captives collapsed. The White House confirmed that Israel had consulted Trump earlier the attacks.

On Iran, meanwhile, Trump’s presumption has seesawed from alignment with Netanyahu to his ain chiseled positions.

April 12-June 13, 2025: The US led back-channel atomic negotiations with Iran, mediated by Oman.

May: Trump stated during his Gulf circuit that the US was successful “very superior negotiations” with Iran and “getting precise close” to a atomic deal, signalling openness to diplomacy. On May 28, Trump said helium told Netanyahu to clasp disconnected connected immoderate onslaught against Iran to springiness his medication much clip to propulsion for a caller atomic deal. He told reporters astatine the White House that helium relayed to Netanyahu a onslaught “would beryllium inappropriate to bash close present due to the fact that we’re precise adjacent to a solution”.

June 11-12: The IAEA said Iran had not been transparent capable successful its atomic programme, and that elements of its attack were successful usurpation of the country’s safeguards statement with the United Nations atomic watchdog. The US began evacuating its determination embassies. Tensions surged arsenic Trump stated that diplomacy was stalling and hinted astatine superior consequences if nary woody was reached.

June 13: Israel launched monolithic aerial strikes connected Iranian atomic and subject sites, sidesplitting cardinal atomic scientists, scholars, and apical subject commanders.

In the archetypal US absorption to Israeli attacks connected Iran, Marco Rubio, the caput of state, called the strikes “unilateral” and said Washington was “not progressive successful strikes against Iran and our apical precedence is protecting American forces successful the region”.

The US-Iran talks implicit a atomic woody were suspended. Trump admitted that helium was alert of Israel’s plans to onslaught Iran.

June 19: Trump, aft astir a week of stalled talks and Israeli attacks, signalled enactment for Israel’s subject campaign, though keeping a diplomatic way open for talks with Tehran.

June 20: The US president acceptable a two-week ultimatum for Iran to negociate the atomic deal.

June 21: Trump ordered US aerial strikes connected Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan atomic facilities, coordinating with Israel. He declared them “completely obliterated”.