Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie told Newsmax on Wednesday that Israel has a history of acting in its own interest.
Wilkie's statement to "American Agenda" came up against a prompt citing a New York Times article that Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu is threatening to derail President Donald Trump's negotiations with Iran on their nuclear energy program and attack the Middle Eastern country — a claim Netanyahu has said, borrowing from Trump's expression, is "fake news."
Wilkie, ostensibly confirming the Times's reporting, said, "The operative principle for Israeli leaders, really going back to the 1967 war, has been if someone tells you over and over again he wants to kill you, you better believe him."
"If the Israelis think," he added, "that their state is threatened, it won't matter. They will do what they have to do, given the unique history of the Jewish people, not only for 3,000 years but just in the last 100 years. So, that's always in the back of whatever happens in the Middle East."
On Wednesday, during the swearing-in ceremony of former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro for U.S. attorney in the Washington D.C., Trump said he warned Netanyahu against taking action on his negotiations with Iran.
Responding to a reporter, Trump added, "It's not a warning; I don't think it was appropriate."
"We're having very good discussions with [Iran], and I said, 'I don't think it's appropriate right now.' Because if we can settle it with a very strong document —very strong — with inspections," he trailed off.
"No trust," he added, "I don't trust anybody. So no trust. I want it very strong, we can go in with inspectors, we can take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab but nobody's going to be in the lab as opposed to everyone being in the lab and blowing it up. Right? Two ways of doing it."
"I told [Netanyahu] this would be very inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution. Now, that could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now, I think [Iran wants] to make a deal, and if we can make a deal, [that would] save a lot of lives."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.