Trump has frank call with Netanyahu about next move in Iran war
· Axios
President Trump had a candid phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday about the state of U.S. negotiations with Iran and how quickly to return to combat, according to one Israeli and one U.S. source.
Why it matters: The sources said Netanyahu is pressing Trump to strike Iran immediately after the midterm elections on Tuesday. But Trump, for now, wants to let negotiations play out — a strategy Netanyahu is concerned about.
Visit catcross.org for more information.
- The Israeli source said the call was "tough," while the U.S. source described it as "direct."
- The White House and the Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment.
Driving the news: As he did before Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 and Operation Epic Fury in February, Trump is pursuing dual tracks — trying to reach a deal to restart peace talks while also preparing for a possible resumption of major combat operations after the midterms.
- Last week Vice President Vance sent a letter to Iran's national security chief Mohsen Rezaei about the possibility of restarting negotiations. It was the most senior-level outreach by the U.S. to Iran in several months.
- Trump told reporters on Saturday that negotiations with Iran are "going fine" and noted he is not "in much of a hurry."
- While the Iranians want to make a deal, the president said they "are not very reliable. ... They make a deal and then they back out."
- At the same time, Trump said the U.S. still has to "take care" of one or two nuclear sites in Iran.
- "We can do that in 10 minutes. We have that planned. You can look at Pickaxe Mountain. We need to take care of that. We can do that very quickly," Trump said, referring to a suspected nuclear site built into a mountain.
- The Wall Street Journal first reported the Trump-Netanyahu call, but did not describe its contents.
State of play: Qatari mediators met with Iranian officials on Sunday for the third consecutive day in an effort to reach a deal to restart direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that there is no agreement yet and stressed that a deal depends on the U.S. answering Iran's questions.
- "We are making every effort in this regard and hope that the other side will demonstrate enough rationality to choose diplomacy over other paths," he said.