The lack of a decisive victory in the Iran war has led to Trump losing confidence in the Israeli prime minister, analysts say
4-MIN READ4-MIN2 ListenTom HussainPublished: 10:57am, 25 May 2026For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has preached a mantra of peace and stability in the Middle East through the destruction of Iran’s Islamic Republic.The obliteration of the ayatollahs, he prophesied, would lead to the normalisation of relations between Israel and the wider Arab-Islamic world – with Israel emerging as the Middle East’s dominant power and indispensable security provider.But on Saturday, Netanyahu’s dreams looked set to be dashed, after US President Donald Trump’s disclosure on social media that a preliminary peace deal with Tehran has been “largely negotiated”.Advertisement
The announcement, following calls between Trump and key Arab-Islamic leaders, instantly triggered a war of words on social media platforms between White House advisers and Israel’s top Republican allies.
The framing of the proposed deal as “Iran appeasement” by Senator Ted Cruz is indicative of the pressure Trump is under from the pro-war ultraconservative wing of his party.Israelis take part in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in Tel Aviv on April 25. Photo: Reuters
Similarly, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo equated the MOU with “pay[ing] the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to build a weapons of mass destruction programme and terrorise the world”.
