Netanyahu urged Trump to strike Iran after US elections in “tough” phone call: Axios

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US President Donald Trump in a Saturday phone call to resume military operations against Iran immediately after the US midterm elections on Tuesday, but Trump prefers to allow more time for diplomatic negotiations with Tehran, according to Axios citing sources familiar with the discussion.

The call, described by one ‘Israeli’ source as “tough” and by a US source as “direct,” focused on the status of ongoing US talks with Iran and the timing of any return to combat.

Netanyahu pressed for strikes right after the November 3 midterms.

Trump, for now, favors letting negotiations continue, a position that has raised concerns on the ‘Israeli’ side.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the two leaders spoke Saturday morning but did not detail the contents.

Trump told reporters in Palm Beach on Saturday that negotiations with Iran are “going fine” and that he is “not in much of a hurry.”

He added that while Iranians “want to make a deal,” they “are not very reliable... They make a deal and then they back out.”

At the same time, he said the US still needs to “take care” of one or two nuclear sites, noting: “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.”

Vice President JD Vance recently sent a letter to Iran’s national security chief Mohsen Rezaei proposing a restart of negotiations, the highest-level US outreach in months.

Qatari mediators have been meeting Iranian officials, including on Sunday, in efforts to revive direct talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that no agreement has been reached yet and that progress depends on the US answering Tehran’s questions, adding that Iran is making “every effort” and hopes the other side will “choose diplomacy over other paths.”

US and ‘Israeli’ forces remain at elevated readiness.

Earlier reports indicated Netanyahu had previously raised concerns about Iranian steps to reconstitute aspects of its nuclear program and discussed potential operations timed around the ‘Israeli’ and US elections.

Trump has publicly stated he would not attack Iran before the midterms while keeping options open afterward.

‘Israel’s’ recent election produced no clear majority for either Netanyahu’s bloc or the opposition, leaving coalition talks ongoing.