U.S. President Donald Trump has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have “no choice” but to accept any agreement reached between the United States and Iran, the Financial Times reported late Sunday.
Washington, not Israel, would determine the outcome of negotiations with Tehran, Trump said during a telephone interview with the British daily shortly after Iran launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel.
“He won’t have any choice,” Trump was quoted as saying. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”
Asked whether Iran’s missile strikes on Israel would affect Washington’s willingness to continue negotiations with Tehran, Trump said the attacks would have no impact on a potential agreement.
“I think the deal is going on. We’ll see what happens,” he said, adding that any agreement would succeed or fail on its own merits and that the strikes would not alter his calculations.
Trump also downplayed the attacks, saying they “did not kick at all,” and described the conflict between Iran and Israel as “one of those things that’s been going for 3,000 years, or 47 years, depending on how you count.”
When asked what would happen if negotiations ultimately failed, Trump outlined two possible options.
One would involve military action to address what he described as unfinished objectives in Iran, and the other would be to maintain a blockade on the country.
“The blockade has been probably more powerful than any attack that was ever made on that country,” he said.
Trump’s remarks came after U.S. media outlet Axios reported details last week of a heated telephone conversation between Trump and Netanyahu.
According to a U.S. official cited in the report, Trump told the Israeli leader: “You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. Everybody hates you now.
Everybody hates Israel because of this.” Trump confirmed to the Financial Times that the call had taken place and did not challenge the characterization of the exchange. Despite several U.S.-brokered ceasefires between Israel and Lebanon, Washington has been unable to prevent Israel from carrying out near-daily strikes inside Lebanon.
Israel on Sunday launched another strike on a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Iran said its latest missile attacks on Israel were carried out in retaliation for that strike.
LONDON, June 8 (Xinhua)
