• After Israel blew up the T4 military base in Syria that was poised for Turkish troops, Trump told Netanyahu to be reasonable regarding Türkiye.
• In a meeting that would change Trump’s stance on Iran, Turkey and tariffs, it appears that President Trump has chosen not to budge on a single issue.
After another tumultuous day in the markets after President Trump launched his trade war against the world, it seems as though the president will not budge even when it comes to one of America’s closest allies, Israel.
As part of the United States global tariff war that seeks to force companies to relocate to the United States, the United States has not budged on the 17% tariff it set out for Israeli products.
The tariff number is higher than most Middle Eastern countries, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey only being hit with a 10% tariff in this global trade war.
Yesterday’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump was meant to be a way for Israel to negotiate lower tariffs as well as the tensions with Iran, Turkey and, of course, Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Netanyahu is the first foreign state official to meet President Trump to discuss reducing the tariffs imposed on his country’s products. However, Trump told reporters on Monday that he is still undecided if he would reduce the tariffs.
On top of that, President Trump has announced that the United States has been having high-level talks with Iran and will hold direct talks on Saturday regarding the nuclear programme.
He said: “everyone agrees that doing a deal [with Iran] would be preferable to doing the obvious.
“And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with or frankly that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it.”
He was referring to military action in the case diplomacy fails.
The details of what has and will be discussed with Iran have not been disclosed; however, Netanyahu has said the chances of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal are extremely low and only wants a deal that includes the full dismantling of the Iranian nuclear programme, according to a senior Israeli official.
If Trump, however, chooses to opt for a deal whereby the Iranian nuclear program is put on hold but not dismantled completely like his predecessor Obama, it could go against Israel’s interests.
The Israel-Turkey issue
It has been a week since Israel carried out its bombing of numerous military sites in Syria, including the T4 military base in central Syria that was poised to take in Turkish troops.
Reports had suggested that Turkey was considering deploying the S-400 missile defence system, one of the best air defence systems in the world, able to shoot down even the most advanced American fighter jets.
Israeli aircraft, which have bombed Syria numerous times both before and after the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, would have been under threat if they were to carry out any anymore maneuverers in the S-400 radii.
Turkish troops and hardware were due to be deployed to the T4 military base after permission from the new Syrian administration but were prevented from doing so after Israeli bombardment.
The crisis between Israel and Turkey has escalated since that attack, with Netanyahu bringing the issue up with President Trump.
During the press conference, President Trump said: “I have a very, very good relationship with Türkiye and its leader.
“Congratulations to Türkiye.
“I told Erdogan: You did what no one has done in 2000 years – you took control of Syria.
“He’s truly tough and very smart.
“He did what no one else could.”
He later told Netanyahu: “If you ever have an issue with Türkiye, I can help resolve it – but you need to reasonable.”
It seems as though Netanyahu’s plan in negotiating with the United States regarding Türkiye’s role in Syria may have backfired, with Trump not only praising President Erdogan of Türkiye and his ambitions in Syria but also going as far as telling Netanyahu to be reasonable regarding its problems with Türkiye.
From a shocking revelation of direct talks between the United States and Iran to no announcement of the reduction of tariffs on Israel to being told to be reasonable regarding any problem with Israel’s new rival Türkiye, it seems as though all, if not most, of Israel’s ambitions and goals in meeting Trump have not been met.
