OMM Newsroom
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called US President Donald Trump “every day” to urge him to resume military action against Iran, despite diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, the Financial Times reported on Monday, according to Anadolu Agency.
“Netanyahu calls him every day [to urge him to resume the war],” a person briefed on the discussions told the British newspaper. The source said people inside and outside the White House who oppose renewed fighting have been trying to counter Netanyahu’s pressure.
“The regional leaders are telling him (Trump) not to escalate and prioritise negotiations,” the person said. Another person familiar with the situation in Israel said Netanyahu wants military action against Iran to resume, but that there was no coordinated “push” to persuade Trump.
The Financial Times reported that Arab and Muslim leaders have been alarmed by Netanyahu’s continued lobbying for a resumption of the war. Trump said on Monday that Gulf allies oppose a new military campaign against Tehran.
“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo,” Trump wrote on “Truth Social” after talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Netanyahu, who remains caretaker prime minister after last month’s inconclusive elections in Israel, has called for renewed US-Israeli strikes aimed at forcing the collapse of Iran’s government. Trump, however, said there was “positive momentum” toward ending the nearly nine-month war and that renewed US strikes on Iran now appeared “quite unlikely.”
Regional leaders urge diplomacy
A diplomat briefed on Trump’s meeting with the Qatari prime minister said there was agreement that “diplomacy is the preferred way forward to get a deal.”
According to the Financial Times, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have spoken with Trump in recent days, urging him to give diplomacy more time.
Regional leaders fear renewed fighting could trigger a broader Iranian response and deepen instability across the Middle East, the report said. Iran has warned that it is prepared to respond to any renewed attacks and could extend the conflict beyond the region.
Mediators have spent weeks trying to break a deadlock between Washington and Tehran over an interim agreement. The two sides have discussed a proposal based on a seven-day plan Iran presented in September, which Trump previously rejected.
Qatar-based television channel Al Jazeera reported on Monday that Sheikh Mohammed’s separate talks with Trump and Vice President JD Vance had made “good progress” on Iran, citing a person familiar with the discussions. A diplomatic source told the channel that the talks aimed to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran and advance negotiations.
An unnamed Iranian official told semi-official Fars News Agency on Monday that reports of talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the release of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets were false.
The official said Tehran would negotiate only under seven conditions it had conveyed to Washington, including lifting the naval blockade and unilateral sanctions, releasing frozen assets and ending the war.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. A memorandum of understanding was reached in July to end hostilities, but fighting resumed as diplomatic efforts stalled.
