Before his dismissal, Waltz irritated Trump with talks in Israel: Washington Post

The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to dismiss his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, stems from a "gradual accumulation of frustrations towards a former Special Forces officer who was perceived as much more inclined to resort to military force than his boss in the Oval Office," reported the Washington Post on Saturday.

The White House chief immediately dismissed his adviser and appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as interim successor, marking the first significant reorganization of his inner circle since taking office in January. In a social media post, Trump announced his intention to nominate Waltz as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The latter had been the subject of criticism and ridicule in March after accidentally adding a journalist to a Signal chat group that included other top national security officials, where they were discussing a U.S. strike in Yemen.

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According to a Washington Post report, Waltz fell out of favor with the U.S. president due to his hawkish stance on Iran. The daily reported that he coordinated with Netanyahu on the use of military options against Iran without informing the president, shortly before the Israeli Prime Minister visited the U.S. in February.

During the visit, the two men seemed closely aligned on the issue, which, according to the newspaper's sources, irritated Trump. The Washington Post added that Waltz actively worked to shift U.S. policy toward a strike against Iran, which did not please the president once he became aware of it.

Netanyahu responded Saturday to the article's publication by denying having had intensive contacts with Waltz regarding Iran.

In a message posted on the X platform, his office simply indicated that Netanyahu had had a cordial meeting with the American official and the special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, at Blair House in February, before his meeting with Trump at the White House.

The U.S. and Iran initiated talks on Tehran's nuclear program on April 12, under Oman's mediation. Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from a previous nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018, repeatedly stating that he would negotiate a "better deal."

This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.