Israel and Iran flare-up tests Trump's grip and could strengthen Tehran's negotiating hand

Israel and Iran flare-up tests Trump's grip and could strengthen Tehran's negotiating hand 17 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Tom Bateman US State Department correspondent Watch: Trump tells BBC Netanyahu did not defy him Israel's tit-for-tat strikes with Iran over the weekend, despite US President Donald Trump's call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold fire, threatened to thrust the Middle East back into another round of direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington. Israel bombed sites in Iran for the first time since a ceasefire in April, after Iran fired missiles at Israel, in what Tehran said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanon's capital, Beirut. The current web of fractious alliances and dysfunctional ceasefires shows how dangerously destabilised the region remains, more than three months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. The escalation also highlights three points about the current trajectory of the war: Trump can't or won't contain his Israeli ally to the extent he publicly proclaims, a point not lost on Tehran, which aims to prise open any differences between the US and Israel Tehran is prepared to risk retaliation against its own territory in order to link the fates of the US-Iran war with the one between Israel and Hezbollah Trump's longed-for deal on the nuclear issue is not imminent, as Iran senses his appetite for risk is currently low and is seeking to extract more from Washington at the negotiating table Iran and Israel say they will pause strikes but warn of retaliation if ceasefire breached again After Iran's missile attack on Israel on Sunday, Trump spoke to several journalists telling one he was "going to call [Netanyahu] right now and tell him not to retaliate". The implication was an Israeli counterattack could jeopardise his perilously fragile diplomacy with Tehran. Hours later, Israel attacked Iran. Trump told the BBC on Monday afternoon that Israeli planes were "already on their way" when he spoke with Netanyahu. In a brief phone call with the BBC, the US president denied the Israeli PM had defied him, saying: "If I tell him to do something, he does it." On the face of it, Trump failed to stop Netanyahu, another escalation in a tense series of exchanges between the two leaders. Watch: Has Donald Trump lost control of the Iran war? Last week, Trump reportedly dished out an expletive-laden rant at Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader "crazy" for wanting to attack Beirut. Netanyahu said strikes on Beirut were necessary amid the Hezbollah threat against northern Israel. Trump felt his behaviour threatened his own attempt to reach a deal with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and secure assurances on Iran's nuclear programme. In an interview with the New York Post last week, Trump said he was perturbed by Netanyahu's "constantly fighting with Lebanon". So did Netanyahu defy Trump with its latest strikes on Iran? Although that's one prevailing narrative, the ans