During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy toward Israel was typified by strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his agenda. But recent actions by Trump on issues including Iran’s nuclear program and hostilities with the Houthis have raised questions as to whether the president is intentionally sidestepping the Israeli leader.
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party who is considered a potential future contender for prime minister, sat down with Foreign Policy on Thursday for a wide-ranging interview. Barkat insisted that Netanyahu and Trump remain “very, very close,” despite the fact that the president just traveled through the Middle East without making a stop in Israel. He also offered his thoughts on the ongoing Israeli blockade on aid into Gaza, U.S. negotiations with Iran, the potential for a trade deal between the United States and Israel, and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Foreign Policy: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday said it received approval from Israel to begin delivering at least some aid into the territory in the coming days, but I’ve seen no public confirmation from the Israeli government on this. Can you confirm this?
Nir Barkat: You’re talking about [when] the 58 hostages that are in the dungeons in Gaza are going to receive aid from the world?
FP: No, I’m asking can you confirm whether or not that this organization is going to be permitted to deliver some aid into Gaza in the coming days, as has been publicly announced? I’ve seen no confirmation from the Israeli government on that.
NB: My question is, what about the 58 hostages that are not getting any aid?
FP: That’s a fair question, but I’m here to ask you questions, sir. It’s not my responsibility to bring aid to the hostages.
NB: That’s my answer. My answer is that the whole issue can be resolved in a minute. The minute Hamas surrenders and it brings back the 58 hostages—the war is going to be over in a minute.
FP: The Israeli blockade on aid into Gaza has lasted for over two months. Other than Edan Alexander, Hamas has not released the remaining hostages, as you just noted. And there are concerns that half a million people are on the brink of starvation. In this sense, the blockade does not appear to be working. Why continue it if the hostages are not being released?
NB: You should ask Hamas that question. Ask Hamas the question, why aren’t they dropping their weapons? And if they care about their people and bring our hostages back, everything will be stopped in a minute.
FP: So, just to follow up, you cannot confirm whether or not any aid will be allowed in the next two weeks, as this organization has announced?
NB: I cannot. I’m not part of the [security] cabinet, so I cannot answer that question.
FP: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already visited the White House twice during Trump’s second term. Do you see it as a snub that Trump has been traveling through the Middle East but didn’t make time to visit Israel this week?
NB: He made it very clear that his mission is an economic mission and he had those specific goals and that’s why he traveled to where he traveled in the Middle East. Mind you that the relationship between Israel and the United States, and Netanyahu and Trump, is very, very close.
He was the first to visit the United States, and the relationship and the collaboration is very high.
So Trump’s goal was economic, and I assume that’s the reason he visited the Middle East.
FP: Speaking of economic goals, not too long ago you expressed optimism about the prospect of a trade deal between Israel and the United States ahead of the July 9 expiration of the pause on tariffs. Are you still optimistic? What’s the status of the talks for a new trade deal between the United States and Israel?
NB: The team, the professional team, was in the United States last week. We’re now preparing for the next round. It’s an iterative process.
I’m going to be in Washington next week, and I am sure that we’ll be able to come up with a good deal together between the two countries. I’m very optimistic.
FP: What issues in particular are you hoping to hash out the details on for this deal?
NB: There’s regulatory issues. We would like to expand the reforms I’ve introduced, basically opening up the regulations in Israel to allow products from Europe to come in directly to Israel. We want to expand that. And whatever is good for the United States is good for Israel. We’re expanding the regulation side.
We have some ideas on how to shift some purchases and acquisitions from other places in the world to the United States to decrease the trade deficit between the two countries. We’re happy to do that. And a couple of other recommendations or proposals are on the table. Some of them are a mutual understanding of how to look at this as an opportunity.
On top of that, I’m going to be proposing a lot of business development between the two countries. Not just trade. And how can we make one plus one equal three between Israel and the United States and other countries as well?
The United States is the biggest trade partner that Israel has, it’s a very special relationship, and we want to maintain that mutual approach of collaboration between the two countries.
FP: The Trump administration directly negotiated with Hamas for the release of Edan Alexander. Is that concerning to the Israeli government?
NB: Every release of every hostage is good. We’re thankful. We hug Edan, and we’re really, really happy to see him home. I don’t think it’s prudent to discuss the details of a release here and a release there. Strategically, Israel is totally aligned with the United States. We’re all together, we understand, and we are very thankful to the Trump administration for the huge support we get. For the veto power in the U.N., and for the supplies, and the major, major support Israel receives from the United States. So we’re very thankful, and we’re happy for every release of every hostage that is captured now and is still under the dungeons of the evilness of Hamas.
FP: Are you at all concerned that the ongoing blockade on aid will also harm the hostages and will make it harder for them to get the assistance they need?
NB: I think the world recognizes that the way they’re treated in the tunnels—they’re not treated as human beings. No Red Cross, no light, no sun, a terrible situation. Some of them are brutally beaten. This is totally, totally unacceptable what is happening to them.
And [it’s] one of the reasons to put pressure on Hamas to swiftly surrender. That’s what we need to do. The Israeli government believes that making Hamas surrender and bringing the hostages [home] are two complementary goals that must be completed hopefully in the near future. And that’s why the Israeli army recruited the reservists and we are eager to get in and to finish the job and to bring all the hostages back.
The two rounds of releasing hostages in the past was while the Israeli army was maneuvering in Gaza. When there’s pressure on Hamas, they come to the table and do deals. So we believe that this is the right thing to do, and we want to end this as quickly as possible.
FP: The United States and the Houthis recently reached a cease-fire agreement, even though the Iran-backed group vowed to continue striking Israel. Was the Israeli government blindsided by this deal?
NB: I think that the Americans are focusing on American interests, and we’re focusing on Israeli interests. The majority of the time, they are totally aligned. We know how to deal with the Houthis, and we demonstrated that just a while ago. They’re continuing firing at Israel, including today, and they will pay a heavy price until they stop.
By the way, I want to add one more thing here, which is my personal opinion of how to deal with this. And that is to adopt the strategy of [U.S.] President [John F.] Kennedy at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, where he said to the Soviet Union that a missile coming from Cuba at American cities will be answered with a missile on Moscow.
And from my perspective, a missile from Lebanon and any other proxy, including of course the Houthis, on Israel—Tehran should be attacked. If we don’t sleep good at night, they in Tehran will not sleep good [at] night. And I think the time is ready for Iran to start paying. They have a big open bill with us.
And I think it’s time to implement the strategy of targeting Iran, making sure they pay a heavy price for what they’ve done. They have a lot of blood on their hands. And it’s very clear to me that it’s not just making sure that they do not have a nuclear bomb, but it’s also making sure they pay a heavy price for their conventional targeting and fighting against Israel.
FP: Trump on Thursday said the United States and Iran are “very close” to reaching a new agreement over Iran’s nuclear program. The administration has sent mixed signals over whether or not it would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium for civilian purposes. Is Israel concerned about the Trump administration’s approach to this and the potential for sanctions to be lifted on Iran?
NB: Well, we have our interests in Israel. We will not take any risk on Iran. We don’t trust them. They will tell the world whatever they need to tell to gain time, to detract attention. So the United States is negotiating. And if and when we understand that the goal has been reached with respect to not having a nuclear bomb—call me again. But at this point, we do not trust the Iranian regime, and we believe that their goal has not changed. And they’re trying to fool the world. We will never be fooled. We believe them, and we will fight them until they drop their weapon and stop trying to create a bomb.
FP: Trump this week seemed to even surprise some of his own officials by announcing he was completely lifting sanctions on Syria. Based on public statements from the Israeli government and recent Israeli military activities, Israel is clearly concerned about the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. Was it the right call for Trump to lift sanctions on Syria at this moment?
NB: We’re observing the new leadership of Syria. If you look in retrospect, in their past—they’re terrorists. The key question is, how will they act in the future and in the near future? And it’s still up in the air. We want to make sure that they are friendly. We want to make sure that we manage the risk associated with Syria carefully. We want to make sure that our partners or people that we care about, the Druze and the Kurds, are secure and safe.
Beyond that, if we find that they’re serious and committed to join the Abraham Accords—Israel’s doors [are] always open. But we just want to make sure that it’s real and we’re not fooled by the terrorist new regime in Syria.
FP: What would you say to those who think that Trump has been deliberately bypassing Israel and Netanyahu on an array of issues, like Syria, the hostage release, and Iran negotiations? Do you think this is deliberate?
NB: I think we’re best friends and we’re well aligned. We are very thankful for the support we get. Basically, what we’re saying is that there may be differences in vision and opinions and interest between the two countries, but that will not deter us from a deep understanding of the relationship we have with the administration. Trump’s administration has moved from being restraining to supportive, and I think that that’s very fruitful and helpful for Israel.
Again, we’ll see how things develop. But it’s certainly OK that we have some differences of approach, but strategically the bond between Israel and the United States is as strong as it ever was, and I believe it’s going to continue this way.
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