White House officials have privately raised concerns that Israel intends to continue fighting Iran even after the United States decides to wind down its own role in the campaign, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Information that reached the newspaper indicated that Trump told his aides he wants to end the war on his own terms, as he did in "the 12-day war". The statements reflect significant disagreements between the administration and the Israeli government, which has continued to insist the operation could last weeks and has spoken openly about regime change in Tehran.
US administration officials who spoke with the newspaper said Trump and Netanyahu speak nearly every day, sometimes more than once. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner also participate in those calls. Despite the close coordination, the gaps on the ground are widening. Israel expanded its target bank to include Iran's oil industry and has continued eliminating senior officials – moves that drew criticism in Washington.
On Monday, the administration made clear to Israel that it was "not satisfied" with the strikes on energy infrastructure and ordered that they not be repeated without prior approval.
Distinguishing Israeli actions from American ones
"The end of American involvement in this conflict will ultimately be determined by the commander in chief when he feels the military objectives have been fully achieved and the threat from the rogue Iranian regime has been completely destroyed," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Even so, Trump told reporters the military campaign was "very complete, more or less," adding, "We're way ahead of schedule."
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy official, told Congress last week that the strike that killed Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was part of a series of "Israeli operations." Colby drew a distinction between that Israeli strike and the "limited and reasonable" targets the US attacked, noting that Washington concentrated its firepower on Iranian missiles, drones, and naval assets.
The administration shifted its stated objectives from the outset. Trump initially called for regime change in Tehran but has not repeated those remarks since. Like the US military and senior Pentagon figures, Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out more limited goals – among them degrading Iran's nuclear and missile programs. Senior military officials and analysts have repeatedly argued that airpower alone has never succeeded in toppling a foreign government.
The Pentagon also confirmed the divergent approaches to the air campaign at a Tuesday briefing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine. Hegseth said the Israeli military had been a good partner but added, "Where they had different targets, they pursued them."
The public opinion divide keeps growing
"Bibi's dream – and Israel's dream for decades – is a joint war to bring down the Islamic Republic. But leaning on Trump for everything is always a risky proposition," said Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel and a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies.
The two leaders are speaking to very different domestic audiences, and polling data reveals a widening gap between the two countries. An INSS survey conducted in early March found that 82% of Israelis support the war. By contrast, a Quinnipiac University poll published Tuesday found that 53% of Americans oppose the war, compared with only 40% who support it.
The shifting objectives of the Trump administration have eroded American public support for the war, with various polls showing that a minority of Americans back it. Trump faces criticism from parts of the Democratic Party and from the right flank of his own party, who are pressing him to stick to a more isolationist foreign policy vision. He opposed the American invasion of Iraq early in his political career and has in the past promised to end America's "endless wars" in the Middle East.
Some of Trump's advisers raised the issue in private conversations and urged him to seek an exit plan, citing rising oil prices and fears of the political damage a prolonged war could bring.
In Israel, officials understand that the window of opportunity could close without warning. "Bibi understands that Trump can end the war at any moment, so Israel is fighting as if every day is the last," said a source familiar with the details. Next week, special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel to try to coordinate the continuation of military operations and the exit strategy from the conflict.
