Netanyahu Presses Trump for Iran Strikes Immediately After US Midterms

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed US President Donald Trump during a telephone call on Saturday to resume military strikes against Iran immediately after the November 3 US midterm elections, according to one Israeli and one US source cited by Axios and additional officials cited by the Associated Press.

Trump confirmed on Sunday that the two leaders had spoken and discussed Iran. He described the conversation as very good but declined to provide further details. Israeli sources characterised the call as tough or pointed; a US source described it as direct. Both the White House and Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the substance when asked by Axios.

The call occurred while Qatari mediators continued efforts to restart direct US-Iran talks. Iranian negotiators left a session in Doha earlier in the week, and a draft proposal based on a seven-step Iranian plan from September remains under circulation. Trump has stated publicly that negotiations are going fine and that he is not in a hurry to resume combat operations. At the same time, he has said he has a decision to make on possible renewed strikes.

Netanyahu’s position, according to the sources, is that continued talks risk easing pressure on Iran’s nuclear and military programmes. A return to full-scale operations could also assist him in forming an emergency government after last week’s Israeli election produced a hung parliament. His bloc holds 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc holds 48, and Arab parties hold a record 19.

Regional officials told the Associated Press that Netanyahu has been working with senior figures in the US administration to build support for a quick but extensive air campaign. Other US allies in the Middle East have warned against further strikes, citing the risk that Iran-aligned Houthis would intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping. Two oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days while travelling on an unauthorised route, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

Trump has previously launched strikes on Iran while talks were underway, once ahead of last year’s 12-day war and again in late February. The current discussions centre on whether to allow the Qatari-mediated process more time or to resume kinetic operations after the US midterms. Oil prices fell on Monday amid reports of possible progress in the talks.

The timing matters for both leaders. For Trump, midterm results will shape the political space available for further military action. For Netanyahu, an emergency government formed around a renewed conflict would alter the arithmetic of the current hung Knesset. No public decision on the next military step has been announced.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has stated that dialogue remains the preferred path and that the seven-step plan is the basis for discussions. Iranian officials have also said ships using a reopened Strait of Hormuz would have to follow a route agreed with Oman and travel under Iranian supervision. These conditions remain unmet according to public statements from both sides.

As of November 2, the situation remains fluid. Additional talks are planned this week. The outcome of the US midterms on November 3 will provide one clear data point for how both Washington and Jerusalem calibrate the next move on Iran.