Netanyahu dismisses talk of Trump rift

There is no rift between Jerusalem and Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News. He emphasizing the strong alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump on Iran.

Speaking with “The Sunday Briefing” co-anchor Jacqui Heinrich, Netanyahu said the United States and Israel remain close allies despite occasional disagreements. “Ninety-nine percent of the time we see eye to eye,” he said, adding that differences are discussed openly and typically resolved.

Netanyahu described Israel as a “model ally,” noting that Israeli and American forces “fight shoulder to shoulder,” and said the two countries share strategic interests.

On Iran, Netanyahu said the two governments are united in their goal of preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He said the shared objectives include ending Iran’s nuclear weapons program, removing enriched material and dismantling enrichment facilities.

Netanyahu expressed support for Trump’s diplomatic efforts to pressure Iran but underscored Israel’s independent red line. “Deal or no deal, as long as I’m prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” he said.

Highlighting recent events to emphasize the common enemy in Tehran, Netanyahu cited chants at the funeral ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which began on Saturday.

“They not only chanted ‘Death to America,’ they said ‘Kill Trump.’ They chanted ‘Death to Trump.’ Well, you’re not going to hear that in Israel. Israel is the best ally the United States has anywhere around the world.”

Asked about the long-term durability of the U.S.-Israel alliance given the erosion of support for the Jewish state among younger Americans on the left and the right of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, the premier expressed concerns. He linked this erosion to social media penetration that has been “used and abused by countries,” saying there were “three in particular,” without naming them.

Netanyahu congratulated Trump on Friday on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement at the time.

“The United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and Israel deeply values the close bond between the two nations,” Netanyahu told his counterpart over the phone, according to the PMO.

The two leaders agreed to meet soon in the United States, the statement added.

In Sunday’s interview, Netanyahu extended his wishes for a happy Fourth of July to the American people.

“Two hundred and fifty years of freedom, and frankly 250 years of defending freedom,” Netanyahu said. “America has been the stellar force in this century and in the past one, in modern times. If you hadn’t had America, you’d have Nazi totalitarianism, Stalin totalitarianism, and others. And I think America has been a great force for good. That doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. Israel is not perfect, either. But it has been a force for immense good, and our alliance has been a terrific one, and it will continue to the extent that I have anything to do with it—and the people of Israel, who are unabashedly pro-American.”