Trump Speaks with Bibi: US Wants Iran Deal

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump held a 40-minute phone call on Monday evening, shortly after Iran announced that it would soon respond to Washington’s latest proposal for a nuclear deal.

Following the call, Netanyahu held a high-level security consultation focused on Iran.

In a sparse readout of the conversation, the Prime Minister’s Office said the two leaders discussed Washington’s ongoing nuclear talks with Tehran.

“President Trump told the Prime Minister that the United States has presented a reasonable proposal to Iran and is expected to receive its response in the coming days,” said the statement from Netanyahu’s office.

It added that Trump informed Netanyahu “that he plans to hold another round of talks with Iran over the weekend.” The statement, however, did not provide any details about what Netanyahu said during the call.

For his part, Trump told reporters at the White House that the conversation went “very well” and covered a variety of issues, including the ongoing nuclear talks, adding that US has a meeting with Iran on Thursday.

This comes as Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the “next round of Iran–US indirect negotiations was being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,” according to a statement cited by Reuters.

Netanyahu stopped testifying earlier than scheduled in his corruption trial to hold the call with Trump, which came as occupied Al-Quds and Washington wait for Hamas’s answer to a Gaza ceasefire and captive release deal, and as his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners are threatening to topple the entity if a Haredi enlistment exemption bill is not passed.

According to Hebrew media, Netanyahu’s meeting after speaking with Trump included senior security officials.

Channel 13 later reported that Netanyahu instructed Dermer and Mossad chief David Barnea to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff before the next round of US-Iran nuclear talks.

At the White House, Trump told reporters that the US “is trying to make a deal [with Iran] so that there’s no destruction and death,” adding that the Iranians are “tough negotiators.”

Asked what’s blocking a deal, Trump said, “They’re just asking for things that you can’t do,” pointing to Tehran’s insistence on retaining its uranium-enrichment capability—something Trump said he won’t permit, even though the latest US proposal reportedly allows limited, low-level enrichment inside Iran for a time.

The call with Trump came as Netanyahu has been meeting in recent days with Haredi members of his ruling coalition and other senior coalition figures, linking the current “opportunities and challenges” in "Israel’s" security situation with the intense political turmoil he faces, Channel 12 reported Monday evening.

“We are in a dramatic period. There are extraordinary challenges on the table. This is a historic window of opportunity that will not return, and therefore, under no circumstances should the foundations of the government [entity] be shaken,” the network quoted the premier as telling some of the Knesset members during the meetings.