The Israeli Prime Minister has suggested he is distancing himself from the U.S. and establishing a fresh alliance with India as Tel Aviv and Washington clash over the former’s military action in Lebanon.
The striking remarks emerge as the apparent divide between the U.S. and Israel deepens during the four-month conflict with Iran. “You have to build new alliances and develop new relationships. That’s what I’m doing right now with India,” Netanyahu told Sharon Gal, a prominent right-wing journalist in Israel.
Last month, Israeli officials condemned the fragile peace agreement brokered between the U.S. and Iran, which appeared to irritate Vice President JD Vance, who told them not to criticise “the only powerful ally” the Jewish state was “left” with “anywhere in the world.
“We have some other friends, like a small country called India. It has 1.4 billion people, and boy, do we have tremendous support there.”
Tensions between the U.S.-Israel and Iran seemed to reach breaking point in late June when the latter attacked three commercial vessels failing to follow its designated route while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington retaliated by launching airstrikes on multiple sites housing Iranian munitions, striking 170 military targets throughout the region, according to the U.S. Central Command.
This week signalled the conclusion of the current peace agreement, according to President Donald Trump, just under a month following its signing.
Israel was deemed partially responsible, as it pressed ahead with strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite explicit warnings from Tehran to stand down.
Netanyahu’s refusal to halt military operations in the region — which the Lebanese government claims have claimed the lives of more than 4,000 civilians since the start of the Iran war — has undermined multiple peace efforts and strained relations between Washington and Tel Aviv.
President Trump reportedly resorted to expletives during a telephone call with the Israeli leader over the fragility of a prospective peace deal with Iran.
The exchange was disclosed in the book Regime Change, authored by journalists Maggie Haberman and Johnathan Swan, which revealed that Trump told the Israeli leader he was “sick” of him.
“I’ve done everything to protect you. You better go along with this. It’s been going on for too long. Everybody’s sick of you, Bibi,” he had said.