Trump: Netanyahu would have "no choice" but to accept US-Iran deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be compelled to accept any agreement negotiated between Washington and Tehran, asserting that the United States “calls all the shots.”

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told the Financial Times in a telephone interview. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.”

Trump made the comments shortly after Iran reportedly launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel in what has been described as one of the most serious escalations since a ceasefire agreement reached in early April.

Despite the missile strikes, Trump said the developments would not affect ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran.

“It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” he told the FT. “We’ll see how it ends up. But they [the missile strikes on Israel] were attacks that did not kick at all. It’s one of those things that’s been going for 3,000 years, or 47 years, depending on how you count.”

However, Trump also appeared less certain about the prospects of a near-term agreement compared to previous remarks following early negotiations led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance in April.

“I think the deal is going on,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

He added that recent Iranian actions would not influence his approach to negotiations.

“The deal may make it on its own merit, or not, but this will not have any effect on it.”

Asked what would happen if diplomatic efforts failed, Trump suggested possible military options, including a commando operation or continued pressure on Iran.

“It means [one of] two things,” he said. “Number one, it would mean that possibly we would go in and take care of the rest of the place that we didn’t take care of militarily. Or it would just mean that we would keep the blockade on Iran because the blockade has been probably more powerful than any attack that was ever made on that country.”

By Sabina Mammadli