Washington, D.C., November 10 (ANI): As U.S. President Donald Trump evaluates options for ending the ongoing war with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly maintained daily communication with the American leader, urging him to resume strikes against Tehran, according to recent investigative reporting.
As highlighted in an assessment published by the Financial Times, Netanyahu has been pressing Trump to resume military strikes against Iran.
“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 Financial Times.
The publication noted that this diplomatic pressure comes as regional Arab governments urge the U.S. president to pursue diplomacy and end the war.
These appeals to Trump come amid continued low-intensity American military operations targeting Iranian territory. Notably, Qeshm Island was struck by U.S. missiles on November 6 and November 3.
While Trump refrained from directly addressing the November 6 strikes on Qeshm Island during public remarks, he confirmed a separate military operation.
“We do minor strikes, but they knock out. They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Netanyahu’s push to resume strikes against Iran gained momentum following a political shift in which the ongoing war emerged as a major factor behind the ruling party losing its legislative majority on Capitol Hill.
Furthermore, the Israeli prime minister is navigating domestic political turbulence after national elections resulted in a legislative deadlock, with the Likud leader failing to form a governing coalition.
Diplomatic records also indicate that Netanyahu and Trump spoke last week about allied strategies concerning Tehran. U.S. administration sources described the conversation to Axios as “frank.”
According to White House insiders who spoke to Axios, Netanyahu urged Trump to launch military strikes immediately after the midterm election results, although the executive branch opted to allow diplomatic negotiations to proceed.
Following a major setback for the administration in the midterm elections, along with recent U.S. military actions in the region, Trump indicated that further strikes against Iran remained unlikely.
“Iran militarily is effectively over,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing on Monday. “We’re just keeping it the status quo.”
The remarks followed a closed-door meeting between the U.S. president and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, during which they discussed the current draft proposal aimed at resolving the conflict.
Under the proposed agreement, Tehran has offered to guarantee unimpeded commercial vessel navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, provided Washington lifts its naval embargo on Iranian ports.
Additionally, Iranian officials have demanded the return of frozen foreign reserves and the formal resumption of negotiations on a final agreement addressing the nuclear issue.
According to the Financial Times, the Qatari leader was among the key Arab heads of state who urged the White House to maintain dialogue and refrain from launching fresh military operations against Tehran.
Parallel diplomatic outreach also involved Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (ANI)
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