In ‘tense’ call on Monday, US president also told PM that threats to strike Iran ‘aren’t helping’ his negotiations over nuclear issue
Times of Israel
In what is being described as a ‘tense’ 40-minute phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, US President Donald Trump told the premier he must permanently end the war in the Gaza Strip now, Israeli television reported Tuesday.
Trump is said to have told Netanyahu that the so-called ‘Witkoff framework,’ which would pause the war for some 60 days in exchange for about half of the hostages held by Hamas, will not suffice.
Netanyahu has so far refused to negotiate a Gaza truce-hostage deal that would permanently end the fighting in the Strip — a red line for him and his far-right coalition partners.
The US president reportedly told Netanyahu that ending the war in Gaza would help with both the administration’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran and normalization talks with Saudi Arabia.
Trump also ruled out an attack on Iran as the White House seeks to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, according to the reports.
The reports by Channel 12 and the Kan public broadcaster, which quoted the English-language conversation in Hebrew, came as Trump told US media that the Iranians had become ‘much more aggressive’ in the talks.
Meanwhile, the top US military commander in the Middle East said he has provided Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with ‘a wide range of options’ for preventing Iran from attaining nuclear arms should talks with Tehran fall through.
Channel 12 reported that there would be no discussions on a strike against Iran until Trump determines that the nuclear talks have failed. The network also cited two sources familiar with the phone call as saying Netanyahu did not receive a clear answer from Trump as to whether the US would give Israel a green light to act alone against Iran, or whether Washington would want to participate in or lead a strike.
According to the network, Trump said he has not completed his efforts in the US-Iran nuclear talks, adding that despite his disapproval of Iran’s latest offer, the door on negotiations has not closed.
Netanyahu replied that a ‘credible military threat’ must be kept on Iran at all times, to which Trump responded that a strike must be ‘taken off the table for now,’ the report added.
According to Kan, Netanyahu told Trump that ‘the negotiations with Iran are futile, Iran is playing you and all they are trying to do is to gain time.’
‘Your statements about an attack on Iran aren’t helping. We’re working on a deal,’ Trump was said to have replied, although White House sources cited by Fox News on Tuesday appeared to agree with Netanyahu’s comment.
Both Kan and Channel 12 said Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the conversation with Trump. On Monday, in a sparse readout of the conversation, Netanyahu’s office said Trump had told the premier that Washington has presented Tehran with a ‘reasonable proposal’ and expects a response ‘in the coming days.’
On Tuesday, Fox News quoted Trump as saying Iran was ‘acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago.’
‘Much more aggressive,’ said Trump, according to the cable news network.
‘It’s surprising to me. It’s disappointing, but we are set to meet again tomorrow — we’ll see,’ he added, though Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the sixth round of talks was set for Sunday in Oman.
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