US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have clashed over when to conduct new military strikes on Iran, with Netanyahu advocating action immediately after the US midterm elections on November 3 and Trump favouring more time for diplomacy.
The two leaders spoke by phone on Saturday about the Iran conflict and negotiations with Tehran, Axios reported. An Israeli source described the call as “tough,” while a US official said it was “direct.”
According to sources, Netanyahu is worried that concessions could be made to Iran in the negotiations, whereas Trump would prefer to follow a diplomatic route before weighing the option of another military strike.
Trump said Sunday he had “a very good call” with Netanyahu and said Iran was one of the topics, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Qatar has intensified its efforts by holding a third day of talks with Iranian officials to find a way to resume direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Trump said that talks with Iran were “going fine” and suggested he was not eager to hit back with military strikes, though he would not exclude doing so again.
