Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump told reports that him and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ‘have disagreements on some things, but he has been a good partner; he did a good job.’ 

The President’s remarks follow his Friday declaration that the United States would now handle the “Hezbollah situation” separately from Iran and that Israel had been “forbidden” from further bombing in Lebanon. “Enough is enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, effectively placing a unilateral U.S. ceiling on Israeli Air Force operations.

This directive creates a glaring contradiction with official State Department documents released just 24 hours prior. Those papers explicitly stated that the cessation of hostilities “shall not impede” Israel’s right to take necessary measures in self-defense against “planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” 

While an unnamed U.S. official later clarified to Axios that the 10-day ceasefire only halts “offensive” operations, Trump’s public rhetoric has signaled a much more restrictive environment for Jerusalem.

The President also used the weekend to shoot down reports that his administration was negotiating a $20 billion deal to exchange frozen assets for Iran’s highly-enriched uranium. Trump flatly denied any financial swap, asserting that the U.S. would instead secure the nuclear material, which he termed “nuclear dust” via the strength of American B-2 bombers.

“No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” Trump insisted, maintaining his “zero-dollar” diplomacy even as he forces a cooling-off period on Israel’s northern front. 

Despite the tactical disagreements over the Lebanon ceasefire, Trump’s latest comments suggest he views the personal relationship with Netanyahu as resilient enough to withstand the current “maximum pressure” on all regional players.