President Donald Trump suggested that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu may be weighing whether to remain in office after the current conflict ends, saying it remains uncertain whether the longtime Israeli leader intends to seek another term.

Speaking with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump reflected on Netanyahu’s lengthy tenure and his role during the ongoing war.

“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career. Does he want to continue? Because, you know he’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister,” Trump said, before adding, “That’s okay, just like I’m a wartime president.”

Karl later noted in a social media post that the conversation took place Monday evening before Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.

Trump also provided additional details about his recent discussion with Netanyahu following Iran’s missile launch at Israel in violation of the ceasefire agreement. In contrast to some previous descriptions of the conversation, Trump indicated that he explicitly urged the Israeli leader to refrain from escalating the situation.

According to Trump, he told Netanyahu, “I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt the deal, but I said, ‘You have to use your own judgment.’ Just go out and use your own judgment, but I don’t want the deal to be hurt.”

While Trump said he believed Israel’s retaliatory strike against Iran on Sunday was not necessary, he acknowledged the reasoning behind Jerusalem’s decision to respond militarily.

Discussing Israel’s actions, Trump said the country felt compelled to answer Iran’s attack.

“They wanted to show retribution,” he said. “When you get attacked, there really has to be retribution.”

{Matzav.com}