Iran and Israel have said that hostilities between them have halted after the two countries exchanged strikes that threatened to reignite the war in the Middle East. According to media reports, Israel stopped attacking Iran after US President Donald Trump warned his ‘good friend’ and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Jewish state risks losing Washington’s backing if it launches more strikes against Tehran.
However, Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, pushed back on reports of an ultimatum, claiming the conversations between the two leaders were cooperative and accusing journalists of playing up a misleading narrative.
“They have a deep friendship that goes back some 40 years, and sometimes lovers have a spat, and sometimes the tension in the room and on the conversation can get a little heated,” Leiter said while talking to Fox News.
The Israeli diplomat claimed that while the Israeli leader “decided” to “lower the temperature” on military action against Iran at Trump’s request, the US president understands “full well” Israel can’t “absorb ballistic missiles into our country without responding”.
