Donald Trump criticizes 'very small partner' Netanyahu after Iran peace deal

While the United States and Israel have shared a long and successful partnership, over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump's rhetoric towards the country's prime minister has remained confrontative. Days after reportedly calling Benjamin Netanjayu "f****** crazy" over a phone call, President Trump said that the Israeli PM was a "very small partner" in negotiating peace in the region.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Trump asserted that Israel could do a better job when it comes to dealing with Hezbollah. "Bibi Netanyahu happens to be a good man. Gets a little excited sometimes," Trump said. "We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say, you can do a little softer touch, Bibi; you don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it; that's from Hezbollah. But it's been an amazing partnership...will say [the US is] the big partner, and [Israel's] the very small partner, and that's true."

"I think they could do better with respect to Hezbollah. I'm not saying they shouldn't protect themselves, I'm saying when two drones are shot into the desert and dropped harmlessly, you don't have to knock down buildings in Beirut," the U.S. President continued. Trump also claimed that Netanyahu had "begged" former President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress at the time to reconsider the JCPOA deal Washington had struck with Tehran.

The President bragged that it could have been the end of Israel had he not come along. Earlier at the Summit, Trump had said that hostilities between the Israeli government and Hezbollah have been going on for too long, which has led to too many people being killed. He even suggested that Syria should be allowed to handle the Hezbollah issue, claiming that the Syrian leadership would do a better job.

Trump's decision to negotiate an MoU with the Iranian government has been met with severe criticism in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to remain in Lebanon as long as the goal of making Israel safe from enemies has been met. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's opposition, said on Tuesday, "Netanyahu promised us a historic victory – and we got a crisis with the Americans, Hormuz open to the Iranians, money for the Revolutionary Guards, ballistic missiles aimed at Israel, and Israel waiting in the corridor like a scolded child." 

Mark Regev, a former senior adviser to Netanyahu, claimed that Trump's deal was giving Iran's regime a "return to life." "The straits are open, and the Iranians can start exporting their oil, and therefore they get money coming in, you've taken away the economic pressure," Regev said.