US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are at odds over the future of the Iran war. The differences became clear during a tense phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday. A US administration official told CNN.
This is not the first phone conversation between the two leaders. They talked last Sunday as well.
In a phone call on Sunday, Trump indicated that the United States could launch new strikes on some Iranian targets as early as this week. CNN previously reported that this possible US military operation could be renamed ‘Operation Sledgehammer’.
However, just 24 hours after the first phone call, Trump announced last Tuesday that he was planning the attack. But he decided to suspend the offensive at the request of Gulf allies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since then, the Gulf states have been in constant contact with the White House and Pakistani mediators to develop a concrete framework for diplomatic talks to move forward, said a US official and a person familiar with the situation.
Trump faced reporters Wednesday morning to discuss his efforts to secure a peace deal. There he said: “We are now at a critical stage with the situation in Iran. Let’s see what happens in the end.”
Trump added: “Either we’ll have a deal, or we’ll take (drastic) steps that will make things worse. But hopefully, it won’t be necessary.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister is angry with the ongoing diplomatic negotiations and negotiations. He has advocated a tough and aggressive policy against Tehran from the start.
Trump administration officials and Israeli sources say Netanyahu’s argument is that delaying the strike or taking any action would mean giving Iran additional leverage.
Netanyahu voiced his displeasure directly to Trump on the phone on Tuesday. The US official said Israel’s prime minister told Trump it was a big mistake to cancel the planned attack. Trump’s plan should go ahead.
An Israeli source familiar with the situation said that during the hour-long call, Netanyahu pressed Trump to resume military operations, highlighting differences between the two leaders.
According to an Israeli official, Trump wanted to see if a deal could eventually be struck. But Netanyahu’s expectations were completely different.
CNN reached out to the White House to inquire about the call. The tense phone call between the two leaders was first reported by US news outlet Axios.
Another Israeli source told CNN that Tuesday’s call caused concern not only among Netanyahu, but also among his closest aides.
The source said there is a strong desire at the top of the Israeli government to resume military operations against Iran. Along with that, their anger towards Trump is also increasing. They argue that Trump’s decision to postpone the strike gives Iran an opportunity to waste time on diplomatic pretexts.
However, Netanyahu’s anger over the US position — particularly Trump’s initial threats and subsequent softening of his tone — is not new, according to sources familiar with the two leaders’ conversations. U.S. officials have also acknowledged in the past that there are clear differences between the goals of the U.S. and Israel in this war.
Yesterday, reporters asked Trump what he told Netanyahu in a phone call the night before. Trump responded by indicating that he was now in control of the entire situation. “He (Netanyahu) will do what I want,” he said bluntly.
Trump is currently pushing for a diplomatic deal, despite strong pressure from Netanyahu to launch a war or military campaign. Yesterday he claimed that the problem with Iran had now reached an “absolute climax”. If it is possible to save some lives through diplomacy, some more time should be given in this case.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai said yesterday that Tehran and Washington still exchange messages regularly through Pakistan.
However, it remains unclear whether the core differences between the two sides have diminished at all. A regional source said Iran had not backed down from its original demands. As a result, major issues such as the country’s nuclear program and the release of assets held abroad remained unresolved as of early this week.
Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated that the path to military action is still open. “If we don’t get the right answer (preferential proposal), everything will change quickly. We are fully prepared for that,” he warned yesterday.
