President Trump expects Israel to accept restrictions on its operations in Lebanon in order to advance the larger goal of reaching a strong agreement with Iran that meets his demands.
According to a source briefed on the two calls held last night between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, Trump also wants it to be clear that if Iran rejects his tough conditions, Tehran — not the US or Israel — will be seen as responsible for torpedoing the deal.
For that reason, he is pressing Israel to limit its activity in Lebanon.
In the first call, disagreements did emerge. Netanyahu made clear that Israel could not accept fire on its towns and civilians. Trump did not like hearing this, because in his view Israeli action in Dahiyeh could endanger his talks with Iran.