Benjamin Netanyahu plans to ‘wean’ Israel off American financial support, just as Donald Trump’s Iran peace proposal unravels and oil prices surge.
The Israeli prime minister was pressed on the financial support his country receives from the US during an interview with CBS News anchor Major Garrett on Sunday.
‘Do you believe it’s time for the state of Israel to reexamine and possibly reset its financial relationship to the United States?’ Garrett asked, to which Netanyahu responded, ‘Absolutely.’
‘And I’ve said this to President Trump. I’ve said it in – to our own people. Their jaws drop,’ the leader continued. ‘I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have.’
Netanyahu went on to say he wants to begin the drawdown immediately rather than wait for the next Congress, phasing it in over the next decade, a push that comes as American support for Israel declines.
His comments come as Iran has issued a stark warning to the US after Trump earlier rejected their ‘totally unacceptable’ peace proposal.
‘We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,’ Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said.
With no peace deal in sight to end the Strait of Hormuz standoff, global oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing Brent crude futures to around $104 a barrel.
Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with CBS News anchor Major Garrett for an interview this weekend, where he was pressed on the financial support Israel receives from the US
His comments come as Iran has issued a stark warning to the US after Trump earlier rejected their ‘totally unacceptable’ peace proposal
Iran has managed to effectively close off the Strait of Hormuz in recent months through a combination of small attack boats, drones, and sea mines laid in the narrow waterway
With no peace deal in sight to end the Strait of Hormuz standoff, global oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing Brent crude futures to around $104 a barrel
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to end the war.
‘I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives”. I don’t like it — Totally Unacceptable! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’ the President wrote in a Truth Social post yesterday afternoon.
The Trump administration’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and roll back Iran’s nuclear program.
Tehran has reportedly demanded that the US end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian bank assets, and establish security guarantees for the regime’s militant allies in Lebanon.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused US diplomats of ‘making unreasonable’ and ‘excessive demands.’
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‘Everything we proposed,’ a regime spokesperson said, was ‘reasonable and generous not only for Iran’s national interests, but also for the good and well-being of the region and the world.’
Trump established the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for transiting one-fifth of all global oil, in order to pressure the regime back to the negotiating table.
Iran, however, has resisted Trump’s efforts to push it toward a deal favorable to the US.
Another sticking point in negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium.
Trump is demanding that Tehran hand over its entire stockpile to the US, while Iran has only offered to transfer it to an allied country such as Russia.
The UN nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) enriched up to 60 percent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade.
