President Donald Trump, right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 7. Photo by Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh
June 15, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mounted a charm offensive aimed at drawing President Donald Trump into a more active role in dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has so far resisted being drawn into a broader war and has said diplomacy remains the preferred path.
In a 30-minute live interview on Fox News, via video from an undisclosed location, Netanyahu repeatedly praised Trump’s leadership and judgment. “President Trump will make the decisions that are best for America, and that’s the way it is,” Netanyahu told host Bret Baier. “He understands that I, as the prime minister of Israel — the one and only Jewish state — must make the decisions that are important for the survival of my country.”
Netanyahu said during the interview that he trusts Trump’s judgment “completely.”
Since Israel’s surprise strike on Iranian military and nuclear targets early Friday morning, a move that triggered fears of full-scale war in the region, Netanyahu has made it clear that while Israel can inflict serious damage, it cannot single-handedly eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Military experts point to the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, a nuclear facility buried deep beneath a mountain in Iran, as likely out of reach for Israeli firepower alone. The U.S. possesses the bunker-busting munitions and stealth bombers needed for that mission.
The Trump administration portrayed Israel’s strikes as a unilateral action, distancing the U.S. from direct involvement, while deploying naval destroyers and air-defense systems that helped Israel intercept Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israeli cities.
Netanyahu described the Israeli action as aimed at preventing another Holocaust. “We already had one in the previous century,” he said. “It’s not going to happen. ‘Never Again’ is now, and we have to act now.” Netanyahu also compared the Iranian chief scientists targeted in Israeli airstrikes to Nazi-era officers. “It’s like Hitler’s nuclear scientists,” he said, “Would you leave them? Of course not.”
Trump’s tightrope strategy, Netanyahu’s gamble
Trump is walking a political tightrope in his response. He is appealing to both factions within his base. His isolationist allies, like Vice President JD Vance and media personality Tucker Carlson, and the rising tide of non-interventionism within the Republican Party can argue that Trump didn’t involve the U.S. in another war. Meanwhile, hawkish conservatives, evangelical Christians and pro-Israel donors are applauding his rhetorical support for Israel and his long-standing tough stance on Iran.
This has also been echoed by senior Democratic members of Congress — backing Israel’s military operation, while stressing the importance of ending the conflict through negotiation. “I support what Israel is doing to defend itself,” Sen. Adam Schiff, a Jewish Democrat from California, said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “I think they found this the opportune moment to go after a nuclear program that was coming closer and closer to fruition. So I support those actions. And I support the administration’s actions in helping Israel defend itself. In terms of whether the administration should go further and engage in direct hostilities against Iran, that’s not something I support.”
Meanwhile, Trump has warned the Iranians not to miscalculate. “If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Saturday night. “However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.”
Netanyahu rejected calls for de-escalation but appeared open to renewed nuclear talks. “The issue here is not ceasefire,” he said in the Fox News interview. “The issue here is stopping those things that will threaten our survival.” He added: “If Iran is willing to accept President Trump’s terms, that’s a different matter.”
JTA contributed to this report.
