Netanyahu Has Tense Call With Trump Over Planned Beirut Strike; Welcomes New Mossad Chief Gofman; Israel-Lebanon Talks Open in Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a tense call with US President Donald Trump on June 2, 2026 over a planned Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut. Trump urged Netanyahu to hold the strike, with Israel agreeing to defer provided it was not attacked first. The episode — reported by Times of Israel as 'Trump tells Netanyahu: Don't' — underscores the divergence between US pressure to contain the conflict and Israel's desire to act against Hezbollah as part of the broader Iran-axis campaign. Separately, Netanyahu held a welcoming ceremony for the new Mossad director, Roman Gofman, vowing to hasten the fall of Iran's regime. A fresh round of Israel-Lebanon talks began in Washington, DC on June 2, with the US mediating discussions on a longer-term border arrangement. Inside Israel's coalition, ultra-Orthodox parties UTJ and Shas threatened to withhold support for coalition legislation unless the Torah Study Basic Law was fast-tracked through the Knesset — deepening the government's instability ahead of expected October 2026 elections. Channel 12 polling (May 29) showed Netanyahu's bloc at 51 seats, 10 short of a majority.