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Netanyahu Thanks Trump and Bessent for New Iran Sanctions in Social Media Statement

The Israeli prime minister's office publicly praised the Trump administration's latest sanctions push within hours of the announcement, underscoring the tight coordination between Jerusalem and Washington on Iran policy.

By Occupation Watch··1 min read
PHOTO: MIDDLE EAST EYE

Source: Middle East Eye · published August 24, 2026

Benjamin Netanyahu's office posted a congratulatory statement to social media on Monday, thanking US President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a fresh round of sanctions on Iran, which the administration itself labeled "economic D-Day."

The statement, attributed to the prime minister, framed the sanctions as deserved punishment.

"You justly exact a steep price from that cruel dictatorship and from those who assist its continued aggression," the statement read.

The post named both Trump and Bessent directly, tagging their official accounts, a routine but telling gesture that signals how closely Netanyahu's office tracks and applauds individual moves inside the Trump administration's Treasury Department.

No further detail on the scope or targets of the new sanctions was included in Netanyahu's statement itself. The characterization of the measures as "economic D-Day" came from the administration's own messaging, according to Middle East Eye's reporting, not from Netanyahu.

What the record shows

The factual record here is narrow but solid: Netanyahu's office did post this statement, and the quoted language is verified against the original post. What is not established by this record is the substance of the sanctions themselves, their legal basis, which entities or individuals they target, or any coordination that occurred before the public announcement.

That narrowness matters. A same-day congratulatory statement from Netanyahu is not, on its own, evidence of policy coordination behind closed doors. It is evidence of public alignment and of the political value Netanyahu places on being seen, immediately and publicly, endorsing US pressure on Tehran.

For a prime minister who has spent years lobbying Washington on Iran policy, from the 2015 nuclear deal fight to repeated appeals to Congress, that public alignment is itself the story. It shows a foreign leader treating a US Treasury sanctions announcement as an occasion for direct, personal thanks to both the president and his cabinet secretary, a marker of how central Iran policy remains to the US-Israel relationship under this administration.

Sources & Documentation

  1. Netanyahu congratulates Trump on expanded Iran sanctionsMiddle East EyePrimary source reporting Netanyahu's office statement