Benjamin Netanyahu

ICC campaign aimed at defending Netanyahu, not myself, says Trump

Donald Trump said the US campaign against the International Criminal Court is intended to protect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials from prosecution, not himself

Trump voices frustration before first meet with Netanyahu since Iran war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and marks a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship. The meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November. Trump revealed some tension with Netanyahu ahead of their meeting, complaining Tuesday about reports that the Israeli leader plans to discuss intelligence on Iranian activities at Pickaxe Mountain, a potential nuclear site that the US president has threatened repeatedly to bomb. "I know exactly what's going on at Pickaxe," Trump told "Fox & Friends." He insisted that whatever Iran is doing is "not a big problem" and that "Bibi's telling ..

Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of fomenting hate, calls ICC charges bogus

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is "fomenting hate" by calling the prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over the war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly. Netanyahu said he intends to be in New York in September to address the annual UN gathering of world leaders, despite the mayor's suggestion that he is not welcome. Mamdani said last week that while New York City does not have legal authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by the world's top war-crimes court, he encouraged the federal government to do so. "He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers - Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone," Netanyahu said on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo. "But he's trying to turn one group against the other." The prime minister has become an increasingly polarizing figure over Israel's war in Gaza, which was ignited by the Oct. 7, 2023, deadly attack on southern ..

Ex-army chief who lost son in Gaza war emerges as Netanyahu's main rival

Polls indicate that Eisenkot's new party Yashar - Hebrew for straightforward or honest - will get slightly more seats than Netanyahu's Likud in the Oct. 27 vote

Have support from India: Netanyahu counters Vance's 'only ally' claim

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday cited support from India, countering American Vice President J D Vance's remarks that the US was its sole powerful ally "anywhere left in the entire world." Netanyahu told the 'Fox News Sunday Briefing' that Israel has the support of many other countries, including "a small country called India." "We have some other friends, like a small country called India, you know, it has 1.4 billion people and, boy, do we have tremendous support there," Netanyahu said. Last month, Vance told a briefing at the White House that Israel should respect the US-Iran peace talks. Asked about reports that Israeli leaders were unhappy with the US-Iran agreement and were criticising President Trump, Vance said, "If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world." Netanyahu said he was getting a lot of support from India on Facebook. "You know, I have this ..

Netanyahu, Trump agree to meet in US 'soon' during phone call: Israeli PMO

The development comes at a time when Trump has been publicly critical of Netanyahu in recent weeks after Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened peace talks with Iran

'Fake news': Israel rejects report on alleged threat to Iranian negotiators

According to the NYT, cited by the Times of Israel, US officials allegedly warned Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf of possible Israeli assassination attempts

'You can't kill your way to security': JD Vance's blunt warning to Israel

US vice-president publicly rebukes Israel over Iran and Lebanon, arguing that military force alone cannot guarantee security and reminding Jerusalem that Washington remains its strongest ally

Trump's push for Iran deal puts friendship with Netanyahu to test

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the "greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House". Now, as Trump tries to finalise a deal to end the war with Iran, he's unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly. He claimed credit for Israel's existence - "without me, there would be no Israel" - and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as "crazy". Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister spans four US presidents, and he's frustrated all of them at one point or another. But none has voiced that as openly as Trump, who started the conflict in tandem with Netanyahu. The tension comes as Trump criticises recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardise negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Trump has been pushing for a deal as he faces political blowback at home, where the war is unpopular and has driven up gasoline prices. "If Netanyahu gets in ..

Israel will keep forces in Lebanon, despite US-Iran deal: Netanyahu

'The struggle has not ended,' a defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis

Iran will never have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow: Netanyahu

Amid growing resentment in Israel over the emerging deal between the United States and Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening defended his actions, emphasising that "Iran will not have nuclear weapons, with or without an agreement". "Iran will never have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow," Netanyahu asserted during a brief press conference in Hebrew. "People ask me what we have achieved? And I answer them - What we have achieved? We removed the immediate threat of annihilation from ourselves. Most importantly, we saved the State of Israel from the threat of total destruction", the Israeli Premier said following a day of criticism from the opposition as well as coalition partners. Assailing Netanyahu's leadership, former Prime Minister and prominent challenger for Prime Ministership Naftali Bennett earlier told the reporters that the term of this Netanyahu government began with a civil war, continued with the October 7 massacre, and is now ending with a .

West Asia war nears end: Where do the US, Iran, Israel stand today?

The new US-Iran peace deal may have halted hostilities, but questions over Iran's nuclear programme, Israel's regional strategy and enforcement of the agreement remain

Israel-Iran conflict exposes limits of Trump's control in West Asia

President Trump is grappling with his own version of the sort of West Asia crisis that beset his predecessors, and that he promised to avoid

'Bibi, be careful': Trump warns Netanyahu of isolation if Iran war resumes

Trump said he warned Netanyahu against resuming war with Iran, while Israel's envoy dismisses reports of pressure, describing the leaders' relationship as strong and cooperative

Trump-Netanyahu differences surface as Israel-Iran tensions flare again

Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things. Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations. The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. That's because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal. Netanyahu, who also faces elections this year, is under pressure to stop Hezbollah's attacks and prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies. He also .

'Get back to table, make a deal': Trump asks Netanyahu not to strike Iran

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Monday, marking the first Iranian missile attack since the April 8 ceasefire

Trump's Netanyahu problem is latest key hurdle to Iran peace deal

The latest diplomatic rupture followed days of Israeli military escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting a phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

'Crazy love for Israel': Netanyahu calls India huge power, praises support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described India as a "huge power" where there is "an absolutely crazy love for Israel" despite what he called efforts to delegitimise the Jewish state elsewhere. Speaking at a leadership programme in the Jordan Valley on Thursday, Netanyahu further cited India as a key example of Israel's expanding international partnerships, as he discussed Israel's international relationships and efforts to broaden its diplomatic partnerships. The remarks came amid a fragile geopolitical situation in West Asia, with Israel facing security challenges on multiple fronts and seeking to strengthen ties with partners beyond its traditional allies. "We are expanding our alliances and what you are talking about is expanding these alliances to a large space. And the larger space is really our unique relationship with a huge power called India," Netanyahu said in a video released by the Government Press Office. Referring to international criticism of Israel, h

Netanyahu says Israel wants to phase out US military assistance: Report

The US currently provides Israel with $3.8 billion a year in military assistance under a 10-year agreement originally negotiated by the Obama administration that lasts through 2028

Netanyahu orders IDF strikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah commander

The strikes come amid an ongoing ceasefire framework between Israel and Lebanon