Rising Middle East tensions threaten President Donald Trump's push for an Iran peace deal. Fox News details military pressure on Iran, including US strikes. a naval blockade, alongside Israel's recent strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut. Discussions center on proposed deal terms, verification mechanisms, and skepticism about Iran's commitment.
A regional analyst says fears that PresidentDonald Trumpcould "flip" on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid a critical push for a U.S.-Iran peace agreement are growing in Jerusalem. a concern highlighted Sunday after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) struck Beirut for a second time.
Despite U.S. warnings that any strikes would derail a breakthrough with Tehran, the strikes came as Netanyahu prepared to convene Israel’s Security Cabinet. after Trump announced a new U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) was expected to be signed imminently.
"The strikes today in Beirut are creating issues with finalizing the deal," a diplomat involved in the talks with Tehran told Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst, adding that they were "a clear attempt by Israel to sabotage the president’s deal. drag the United States back into war."
Trump went on to condemn Israel's strikes in a post on Truth Social. also telling Axios that Netanyahu had "no f---ing judgment."
WHY TRUMP KEEPS FLIPPING ON IRAN: A PRESIDENT WHO SEES THE WORLD AS HE WANTS IT TO BE
President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 29, 2025.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, noted there was "absolutely this fear in the Israeli government," calling it "a rational. healthy fear" over the pending deal.
He saida strategic chasm existed betweenthe two allies. contrasting Netanyahu's doctrine of sustained, long-term military pressure with Trump's pursuit of immediate diplomatic victories.
"Now there is a sense in Israel that Trump may be growing weary of Netanyahu. the Israelis, and many others believe that if he got sick and tired of him, he could break norms in other directions and flip on Israel," Sachs, anIsraeli foreign policy expert, told Fox News Digital.
With discussions underway through Pakistani mediation. the Israeli prime minister's office released a statement shortly after Trump announced the possibledeal with Tehran on June11.
Jerusalem "is not a party to the memorandum of understanding" between Washington. Tehran, Netanyahu said before reiterating on June 12 that Iran was "working to destroy the Jewish state." He assured Israelis he had dedicated his life to "preventing them from doing so."
On Sunday. a senior Israeli official also said Hezbollah attacks had targeted Israeli civilians for the previous three days as Israel prepared for Iranian retaliation.
NETANYAHU DECLARES ISRAEL 'WILL EXACT THE FULL PRICE' AFTER IRANIAN STRIKE HITS HOSPITAL IN ISRAEL
President Trump’s push for a U.S.-Iran deal is fueling concern in Jerusalem. he could turn on Netanyahu as Israeli strikes in Beirut threaten to complicate negotiations.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Trump had already criticized Netanyahu during a phone call earlier this month,reportedly calling him "crazy"over a first strike on Beirut. was complicating the administration's negotiations with Iran.
"It's not just that there seems to be a crisis —. there were clearlyexpletives used by the presidenttoward the prime minister on the backdrop of a joint and large military operation," Sachs said.
"Israel. Netanyahu had first looked at Trump and saw bothenormous carrots and enormous potential sticks," Sachs said of the start of Operation Epic Fury and Roaring Lion on Feb. 28.
"Trump was a huge opportunity for Netanyahu because he was willing to break the mold on anything,. Israel has made a potentially strategic, historic mistake in putting all its eggs in one basket," he added.
"Netanyahu was always prepared for the long haul," Sachs said. "And the long haul is not four months; the long haul is years. Trump likes quick wins. Once the quick win did not materialize —. it did not — now you have a whole new set of problems."
"Trump’s preference seemed far from pursuing a much broader campaign aimed at achieving the goals that Israel prefers,. he also has a much narrower conception of what a deal would be," he added.
TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION
Lebanese civil defense workers search for victims in the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut. Lebanon, on April 9, 2026.(Hassan Ammar/AP)
Sachs noted, however, that Trump. Netanyahu broadly shared goals oncurbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, eliminating Hezbollah's armed presence in Lebanon and establishing a post-Hamas future for Gaza.
But he said, "having that wish list is not the same as having a strategic goal. They haven’t both committed to them as strategic goals that dictate concerted action going forward."
Sachs also argued that tensions between Trump and Netanyahu reflect different temperaments.
"Netanyahu thinks of himself as a strategic thinker — very able,. of course, he has a very high opinion of himself — but he is completely different," he observed.
"Netanyahu is an erudite, well-educated, patient, highly suspicious and extremely pessimistic man by nature. His self-image is more, 'I have thought everything through in ways you could not, because I'm smarter than you.'
"He's very suspicious of everyone around him, and he's been surrounded by this same coterie of individuals for decades."
"In terms of personality and where they come from, their worldview is also actually very different," Sachs added.
"You can't imagine Netanyahu spending hours at night on social media. He doesn’t go on it himself,. it's hard to imagine President Trump spending hours readingbooks, which Netanyahu likes to portray himself as doing. I doubt he has time for it, but that is an image he projects,. I think it is partially true."
"Netanyahu also believes you live with a problem, you manage it, and you kick the can down the road. Trump is the opposite."
"The U.S. may turn away and be uninterested; Israel simply does not think it has that privilege," Sachs said.
"Netanyahu and Trump have very different time horizons, and that is partly geography and interest — and partly personality."
Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.
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