Netanyahu, trapped by his alliance with Trump

The scene might almost have seemed surreal, had the ongoing war in Iran not already laid bare the growing tensions between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Seeing the U.S. president cast himself as an arbiter between Iran and Israel, placing his adversary and his closest regional ally on the same footing — the very ally who had earlier persuaded him to enter the war — gives the impression of a shift that is difficult to ignore.On the evening of June 7, Tehran launched a volley of missiles at northern Israel, the first since the fragile ceasefire reached two months earlier. This was presented as retaliation for an Israeli strike that had taken place earlier in Beirut’s southern suburbs.Following the missile fire, U.S. President Donald Trump, during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged him not to carry out...