Iranupdated 39m ago2 min read
Netanyahu Urges Trump to Resume Iran War After US Midterm Elections, Channel 12 Reports
“war a potential political lifeline for Netanyahu.”
“‘But there is no choice,’ he explained.”
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Netanyahu urged Trump to resume war on Iran immediately after US midterm elections. Trump reportedly favored diplomacy and sought more time before any renewed strike.
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Calls and strike preparations
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US President Donald Trump over the phone on Saturday to resume the war against Iran immediately after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, while Trump wanted to give diplomatic negotiations with Tehran more time, Channel 12 reported. Trump told reporters in Palm Beach that the US wanted to destroy up to two more targets in Iran, and he said, “We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes.”
Qatari mediators held talks with Iranian officials in Doha for three consecutive days while maintaining direct contact with US Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to the report. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement on Saturday ordering the armed forces to be prepared to respond to any attacks, and the Iranian military later announced it was taking steps to improve its readiness.
Doha talks and nuclear debate
Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators on Saturday to discuss paths out of war in the Gulf, and a source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters the talks were coordinated in regular contact with Washington. Trump said negotiations with Iran are “going fine” but the Islamic Republic was “not very reliable,” as Iranian negotiators continued discussions with Qatari mediators.
Iran’s influential security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran was debating whether to lift its longstanding ban on nuclear weapons should hostilities resume, while he also said no such decision had been taken. Rezaei said there can be no talks on Iran’s nuclear program unless Washington accepted Iran’s demands, and he said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Iran’s conditions are met.
Israel’s political transition stakes
A senior Israeli official said Saturday evening that “it looks like we're heading toward war rather than an agreement,” as Israel prepared for the possibility that fighting could resume immediately after the midterms. Ynet military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai said Qatar has been conducting a mediation effort between Iran and the United States since Friday, and he described it as potentially one of the last opportunities for a diplomatic breakthrough.
Ynet military analyst Yossi Yehoshua said the IDF has completed its preparations for a renewed campaign, both defensively and offensively, and he added that Israel’s military readiness is extremely high. The Ynet account said the decision on whether to launch a strike rests not in Jerusalem but in Washington, and it warned that it remains unclear what Trump hopes to achieve and how he intends to end the campaign if it begins.