Netanyahu demanded Trump to strike Iran — Axios
The Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the US held a phone conversation. Trump is in favor of conducting negotiations with Iran, while Netanyahu is against it.
Netanyahu asked Trump to strike Iran — Axios
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and demanded that he resume strikes against Iran.
According to reports, the politicians communicated on October 31. The Israeli side described the conversation as "tense," while the US side assessed it as "candid." Netanyahu asked Trump to begin striking Iran after the midterm elections to Congress. However, the US president currently favors giving a chance to negotiations with Tehran, which are being conducted through the mediation of Qatar, instead of military action. Netanyahu, for his part, is concerned about these negotiations.
Prior to previous operations against Iran (in June 2025 and February 2026), Trump also pursued a two-track strategy. Specifically, he tried to reach an agreement while simultaneously preparing to initiate hostilities. In June 2026, the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, but soon after, both sides accused each other of violating the peace regime.
In late October, the US warned the Persian Gulf states that it might conduct a short but intense military operation in the region after the midterm elections. At the same time, US Vice President JD Vance contacted the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaee, to determine whether there were enough common grounds to reach an agreement between Tehran and Washington.
Rezaee recently stated that negotiations would begin only if the US accepted Iran's seven conditions. These conditions differ from the content of the memorandum concluded in Islamabad in June. Tehran declared that negotiations would not begin until the demands were met.
For context, parliamentary elections were held in Israel on October 27. According to the results, Netanyahu's bloc took the lead, winning 53 seats in the Knesset. However, this is not enough to form a government. Now, the parties must reach a coalition agreement. This process may take a long time.