Netanyahu presses Trump daily to resume Iran strikes: Report
Radical Israeli regime leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been urging US President Donald Trump every day to resume military strikes against Iran, despite diplomatic efforts to end the nearly nine-month conflict, the Financial Times said in a report.
“Netanyahu calls him every day [to urge him to resume the war],” a person briefed on the discussions told the British newspaper, adding that officials opposed to renewed fighting were trying to counter the pressure.
Regional leaders, meanwhile, have urged Trump to avoid escalation and give negotiations more time, the source said.
Another person familiar with the situation in Israel said Netanyahu wanted military action against Iran to resume, but there was no coordinated effort to persuade Trump to launch fresh attacks, Anadolu news agency said in a report.
The report said Arab and Muslim leaders had become increasingly concerned about Netanyahu’s lobbying. On Monday, Trump said Gulf allies opposed a new military campaign against Tehran.
“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after speaking with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Netanyahu, who remains a caretaker prime minister after last month’s inconclusive Israeli elections, has called for renewed US-Israeli strikes aimed at bringing down Iran’s government.
Trump, however, said there was “positive momentum” towards ending the conflict and described renewed US strikes on Iran as “quite unlikely”.
Diplomacy
A diplomat briefed on Trump’s meeting with the Qatari prime minister said there was agreement that “diplomacy is the preferred way forward to get a deal”.
According to the Financial Times, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have spoken with Trump in recent days, urging him to allow diplomatic efforts more time.
Regional leaders fear renewed fighting could provoke a wider Iranian response and worsen instability across the Middle East, the report said.
Iran has warned that it is prepared to respond to any fresh attacks and could extend the conflict beyond the region.
Mediators have spent weeks trying to overcome a deadlock between Washington and Tehran over an interim agreement.
Both sides have discussed a proposal based on a seven-day plan presented by Iran in September, which Trump had previously rejected.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported on Monday that separate talks between Sheikh Mohammed, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance had made “good progress” on Iran, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
A diplomatic source told the broadcaster that the discussions aimed to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran and advance negotiations.
Meanwhile, an unnamed Iranian official told semi-official Fars News Agency that reports of talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the release of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets were false.
The official said Tehran would negotiate only on the basis of seven conditions conveyed to Washington. These include lifting the naval blockade and unilateral sanctions, releasing frozen assets and ending the war.