Unilateral attack

Trump: “I’m in charge,” then Israel struck

Despite the U.S. president’s warning against retaliatory strikes, Israel’s air force carried out attacks on Iranian targets.(Bild: AP/Alex Brandon)

Following Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government not to launch any retaliatory strikes. What Netanyahu thought of that became clear a few hours later: Israel’s Air Force carried out strikes on targets in Iran. A slap in Trump’s face.

According to the U.S. president, an agreement with Tehran was on the verge of being finalized. “It’s going to be a good deal. I don’t want it to fall apart because of current events,” Trump told an “Axios” reporter.

“Both sides had their fun”
Accordingly, the U.S. president announced a phone call with “Bibi” Netanyahu to dissuade him from a retaliatory strike. “Both sides had their fun. Israel carried out its attack and Iran carried out theirs. We don’t need another one,” Trump was quoted as saying (see X-Post below).

Despite the U.S. president’s warning against retaliatory strikes, Israel’s air force carried out attacks on Iranian targets.(Bild: AP/Alex Brandon)

“Netanyahu isn’t in charge”
Speaking to the “Financial Times,” the US president stated that Netanyahu had no choice but to accept any agreement the United States negotiates with the regime in Tehran. “I’m in charge. I’m always in charge. Netanyahu isn’t in charge,” the U.S. president said shortly after the Iranian missile barrage struck Israel.

The counterattack followed shortly thereafter. According to military reports, several targets at an oil facility in the Iranian port city of Mahshahr in the southwest of the country were targeted. According to Iranian reports, parts of the facility were damaged in the airstrike.

An Iranian missile struck the West Bank near the city of Jericho.(Bild: AP/Mahmoud Illean)

“Dangerous Precedent”
By calling on Israel to refrain from a retaliatory strike, Trump has set a “dangerous precedent,” says Nadav Pollak, a Middle East expert and former Israeli intelligence officer, on X. This signals to Iran “that limited attacks on Israel can go unpunished.”

Iran’s proxies in the region—such as Hezbollah or the Houthi militia—could also feel emboldened to attack Israel “since they know that Iran is ready to intervene,” Pollak writes (see X post below). A rocket was already fired from Yemen toward Israel on Monday, in addition to other Iranian rockets.

With its unilateral airstrikes, the Israeli government has sent a clear signal that it will not tolerate such provocations—but has also snubbed even its most powerful allies. Following last week’s diplomatic rifts, relations between the U.S. and Israel are thus becoming even more strained.

“Calculated Move”
And what is Iran aiming to achieve with its missile attacks? Iran expert Holly Dagres sees the Iranian missile attacks as a “calculated move to pressure the U.S. into making concessions” in order to finalize the framework agreement. “Tehran knows that Trump wants to avoid a resumption of war, but this was a real risk with significant room for miscalculation,” Dagres wrote on X.

Trump: Stop the attacks immediately
In a terse response, without repeating himself or launching into tirades as he often does, Trump reacted to the new massive attacks: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote on Monday on his platform Truth Social.