Trump Urged Netanyahu Not to Retaliate, Yet Israel Struck Iran Within Hours in Latest Sign of Rift Between Leaders

President Donald Trump publicly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran following a new missile barrage over the weekend, but Israel launched fresh strikes within hours, underscoring growing tensions between the two leaders as Washington pushes for a broader regional deal.

The latest escalation came after Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that Netanyahu would ultimately have "no choice" but to accept any agreement negotiated by Washington with Tehran because "I call the shots."

"He won't have any choice," Trump told the news site in a phone interview conducted shortly after Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel. "I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn't call the shots."

The missiles marked Iran's most serious breach of the April ceasefire and came in retaliation for an Israeli strike earlier Sunday on Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. Trump separately told Fox News that he planned to instruct Netanyahu not to respond militarily. He also made similar comments to Axios:

"I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don't need another one"

Trump also sought to minimize the Iranian attack, telling Axios the missiles "didn't hurt anybody" and warning that further escalation could jeopardize negotiations with Tehran. "We are very close to a final deal with Iran," he said. "I don't want it to blow up because of what is happening now."

Despite the public pressure from Washington, explosions were later reported in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan, according to Iranian state media cited by The Daily Beast on Monday, which said "air-launched ballistic missiles" were used in the attacks. The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed strikes had taken place.

On Truth Social, Trump insisted that Israel and Iran were "looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!" but warned that negotiations could still collapse because of "ignorance or stupidity getting in its way."

The latest developments follow a previous public dispute between Trump and Netanyahu last week in which Trump claimed he had persuaded Israel to abandon plans for a larger operation in Beirut. According to Axios, Trump angrily accused Netanyahu during that earlier exchange of undermining U.S. diplomatic efforts, telling Netanyahu that he was "fucking crazy," and warning him that "everybody hates Israel because of this."

Despite repeated U.S.-brokered ceasefires involving Israel and Hezbollah since April, fighting involving Israel, Iran and Iranian-backed groups has continued across the region.