Trump Struggled to Rein In Netanyahu’s Strikes on Iran

Wall Street Journal: “As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed how to respond to waves of Iranian missile attacks Sunday night, President Trump called with a message: Stand down.”

“But as it became clear the Israeli leader wouldn’t ignore a direct attack, Trump shifted his tone. Keep it limited, and don’t let it escalate, he said according to people familiar with the conversation.”

“Trump had hoped to contain the flare-up in fighting to keep it from disrupting work on a peace deal he is trying to hammer out with Tehran. His struggle to squelch Israel’s retaliatory strikes shows the difficulty of managing a situation in which the U.S. and Israel’s priorities are diverging sharply, particularly over Lebanon, as he tries to wind down the war.”