Netanyahu calling Trump ‘every day’ to push for renewed war on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been calling US President Donald Trump every day to urge him to resume military action against Iran, the Financial Times reported, as Gulf leaders press Washington to choose negotiations over a new offensive.

“Netanyahu calls him every day [to urge him to resume the war]. Those who don’t want a war within the White House and outside have been trying to combat that,” a person briefed on the discussions told the British newspaper. 

The same source said regional leaders were telling Trump not to escalate and to put negotiations first. The FT said Arab and Muslim leaders have been alarmed by Netanyahu’s constant lobbying for a return to combat operations.

Trump appeared to refer to the views of his Gulf allies after his meeting on Monday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose government has been mediating between Washington and Tehran. 

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump explained why he currently prefers to keep up the US naval blockade of Iran rather than launch another military offensive, writing: “Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo.” He also said renewed US strikes on Iran looked “quite unlikely”.

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A second source, described by the FT as familiar with the situation in Israel, said Netanyahu wants military action against Iran to resume, but insisted there is currently no “push” to persuade Trump.

The report fits a pattern of Israeli pressure on Washington. Last week, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had pressed Trump during a phone call to resume the war after the US midterm elections, while the US president preferred to give diplomacy another chance. 

In October, the FT reported that Netanyahu had ordered the Israeli military to prepare a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran, which Trump blocked until after the midterms. Earlier this year, the New York Times revealed how Netanyahu personally pitched a joint assault on Iran to Trump in the White House Situation Room in February, presenting claims about regime change that senior US officials called “farcical”.

A day after the FT report, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Netanyahu and Trump had clashed over Iran in a tense phone call over the weekend. Netanyahu’s office dismissed that account as “fake news”.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington saw no immediate need to resume major combat operations, arguing that economic pressure was working. Qatar said the same day that it had received “positive responses” from both sides on its mediation efforts, while Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei denied that Tehran was holding any talks with Washington.

The US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February. A ceasefire followed in April and a memorandum of understanding was signed in June, but fighting between the US and Iran resumed in July as diplomacy stalled.

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