In a tense 40-minute phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, US President Donald Trump told the premier he must permanently end the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Tuesday.
Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that the so-called “Witkoff framework,” which would pause the war for some 60 days in exchange for about half of the hostages held by Hamas, will not suffice.
Netanyahu has so far refused to negotiate a Gaza truce-hostage deal that would permanently end the fighting in the Strip — a red line for his far-right coalition partners.
The US president reportedly told Netanyahu that ending the war in Gaza would help with both the administration’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran and normalization talks with Saudi Arabia.
Trump also ruled out an attack on Iran as the White House seeks to reign in Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, according to the reports.
The reports by Channel 12 and the Kan public broadcaster, which quoted the English-language conversation in Hebrew, came as Trump told US media that the Iranians had become “much more aggressive” in the talks.
Meanwhile, the top US military commander in the Middle East said he provided Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with “a wide range of options” for preventing Iran from attaining nuclear arms should talks with Tehran fall through.
Channel 12 reported that there would be no discussions on a strike against Iran until Trump determines that the nuclear talks have failed. The network also cited two sources familiar with the phone call as saying Netanyahu did not receive a clear answer from Trump as to whether the US would give Israel a green light to act alone against Iran, or whether Washington would want to participate in or lead a strike.
According to the network, Trump said he has not completed his efforts in the US-Iran nuclear talks, adding that despite his disapproval of Iran’s latest offer, the door on negotiations has not closed.
Netanyahu replied that a “credible military threat” must be kept on Iran at all times, to which Trump responded that a strike must be “taken off the table for now,” the report added.
According to Kan, Netanyahu told Trump that “the negotiations with Iran are futile, Iran is playing you and all it’s trying to do is to gain time.”
“Your statements about an attack on Iran aren’t helping. We’re working on a deal,” Trump was said to have replied, though White House sources cited by Fox News on Tuesday appeared to agree with Netanyahu’s comment.
Both Kan and Channel 12 said Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the conversation with Trump. On Monday, in a sparse readout of the conversation, Netanyahu’s office said Trump had told the premier that Washington has presented Tehran with a “reasonable proposal” and expects a response “in the coming days.”
On Tuesday, Fox News quoted Trump as saying Iran was “acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago.”
“Much more aggressive,” said Trump, according to the cable news network.
“It’s surprising to me. It’s disappointing, but we are set to meet again tomorrow — we’ll see,” he added, though Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the sixth round of talks was set for Sunday in Oman.
Iran’s leaders, who are sworn to destroy Israel, have publicly denied seeking nuclear weapons, but have stocked up on 60%-enriched uranium — far above what is necessary for civilian uses, and a short step away from weapons-grade. US officials are reportedly concerned that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear sites with little warning.
Netanyahu has demanded that any nuclear deal with Iran fully dismantle the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities and uranium enrichment sites. Speaking to reporters after the phone call on Monday, Trump said Washington would not allow Tehran to enrich uranium on its soil.
The US proposal for a nuclear deal would reportedly allow just that, though, for a temporary period of time. Iran’s parliament speaker said Monday that the proposal did not mention sanctions relief, calling Trump “delusional” for thinking Tehran would accept the offer.
In a statement Tuesday, Iranian parliamentarians accused the US and Israel of laying a “strategic trap” for Iran in the nuclear talks.
The White House “has set the goal of talks as imposing its demands and has adopted offensive positions that are diametrically opposed to Iranians’ inalienable rights,” said the statement. “The only acceptable deal is one that permanently lifts all sanctions with the aim of achieving economic benefits for Iran.”
Gen. Michael Kurilla, the outgoing commander of the US Central Command, told American lawmakers that he presented the White House with plans for a strike on Iran in case the nuclear talks fail.
During a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee, the committee’s Republican chair, Representative Mike D. Rogers of Alabama, asked Kurilla whether CENTCOM would be “prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran” if Trump orders such a strike.
“I have provided the secretary of defense and the president a wide range of options,” said Kurilla.
“I take that as a yes,” Rogers replied. “Yes,” said the general.
During his testimony, Kurilla said Iran has reached a 40-year low point strategically amid the “tectonic shift” unleashed in the region by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
During that time, Syrian rebels ousted their country’s Iran-backed President Bashar Al-Assad, and Lebanon’s Iranian proxy Hezbollah has emerged severely weakened from war with Israel.
“This dealt a massive blow to Iran’s terror network,” said Kurilla. “The Iranian proxies are at one of the weakest levels they’ve been.”
Kurilla noted that the regional conflict saw Israel and Iran come to direct blows for the first time, with Iran launching massive barrages of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in April and October last year. Israel’s reprisals, which damaged Iran’s air defenses, have reportedly left the Islamic Republic bracing for a strike on its nuclear sites.