US President Donald Trump asserted Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will do “whatever I want” when it comes to a potential military strike on Iran, in remarks made a day after the pair reportedly held a tense call on the subject.
Trump was asked by reporters about his Tuesday phone call with the Israeli premier. “He’s a very good man, he’ll do whatever I want him to do. And he’s a great guy… Don’t forget he was a wartime prime minister,” Trump responded.
Netanyahu has touted his close relationship with Trump, crediting it for a long list of pro-Israel decisions made by the US president. But it has also exposed Netanyahu to criticism that he is unable to push back on Trump as he has become so indebted to him.
Asked by The Times of Israel in March whether he alone would decide when the war with Iran ends or if Netanyahu would also have a say, Trump claimed that it would be a “mutual” decision,” but when a ceasefire was announced several weeks later, Jerusalem was reportedly caught off guard.
Trump has still been careful not to criticize Netanyahu and has even lobbied for him to be pardoned by President Isaac Herzog in the ongoing corruption trial that the premier is facing.
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Netanyahu is seen as supportive of resuming the war against Iran, as he has argued that war aims pertaining to Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs, along with its support for proxies, are still unmet. The premier has said he would accept those issues being address diplomatically but has expressed skepticism over whether Tehran is willing to negotiate in good faith.
Axios reported that during their Tuesday phone call, Trump updated Netanyahu on new mediation efforts by several Arab and Muslim states to reach a deal between the US and Iran.
The emerging proposal – reportedly drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from regional mediators Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt – would see Washington and Tehran sign a “letter of intent” that would officially end the war and open 30 days of negotiations on issues including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and limiting Iran’s nuclear program, a US source involved in the phone call told Axios.
The two leaders disagreed on the path forward during the call, as Netanyahu was highly skeptical of the framework, believing the US should continue applying military pressure on Iran to further weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure, two Israeli sources said.
The US source said that Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire after the call,” though Israeli sources noted that Netanyahu “is always concerned” about how negotiations with Iran will go, even during stages that previously failed.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the White House declined to comment to Axios on the report.
Mediators have been working over the last several days to bridge gaps on the last Pakistani proposal, and Qatar recently presented the US and Iran with a new draft, two Arab sources and an Israeli source told Axios, though a fourth Qatari source said there is no separate draft from Qatar and Doha is only aiming to improve the Pakistani draft.
The current efforts aim to secure stronger commitments from the Iranians regarding limiting their nuclear program and better guarantees from the US to gradually unfreeze Iranian funds kept abroad, according to the report.
Qatar sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks on the latest draft, as did Pakistan, the report adds.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday if he is open to a limited Iran deal that would only open the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire, Trump said he is in no rush to reach an agreement: “We’d have to open the strait that would open immediately, so we’re gonna give this one shot. I’m in no hurry. Everyone is saying, ‘Oh, the midterms.’ I’m in no hurry… Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot.”
Hours earlier, though, he told reporters that the war “will end very quickly.
Trump has given vague timelines for reaching a diplomatic solution with Iran, saying Tuesday that he could wait “two or three days” or for “a limited period of time,” after announcing that he canceled a strike planned for Tuesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued its own warning to Trump on Wednesday, threatening major repercussions if the US resumes the war.
“If the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you,” said the IRGC, in a statement on its Sepah News website.
“The American-Zionist enemy… must know that despite the offensive carried out against us using the full capabilities of the world’s two most expensive armies, we have not deployed the full power of the Islamic revolution,” it continued.
On Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that “a lot of good progress is being made” in the efforts to reach a deal, adding, “We’re just going to keep working at it.” At the same time, he warned Iran that the US military was “locked and loaded.”
Also Tuesday, the US Senate advanced a war powers resolution, as a fourth Republican joined Democrats in their efforts to assert authority over the conflict, though support for passing the measure remains short of a majority.
Amid the tension, Pakistan’s interior minister headed to Iran on Wednesday for the second time this week, Iranian state media reported.
“Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic Republic,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad.
Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the US, with Naqvi previously in Tehran on Saturday to “facilitate” the process, according to Iranian media.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, said further hostilities in the Middle East would be “inadvisable,” calling for a ceasefire, as he spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, according to Chinese state media.
“A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important,” Xi told Putin, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Germany to send Turkey additional Patriot system
Also amid the war in Iran, Turkey said on Wednesday that Germany would send it a Patriot missile defense system for a six-month deployment from June to replace a system deployed as part of NATO measures in southeast Turkey to bolster air defenses.
In March, Ankara said a US Patriot system was deployed to southeast Turkey, near a NATO radar base, in the face of missile threats from Iran. NATO defenses shot down four ballistic missiles launched from Iran during the war.
“In addition to the Spanish Patriot air defense system currently deployed in our country, one of the two additional Patriot systems deployed by NATO due to the conflicts between the US, Israel, and Iran will be replaced by a German system,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“This replacement is planned to be completed in June, and the system is expected to remain operational for approximately six months,” it said, adding that security evaluations will continue in coordination with allies.
Jordan shoots down drone, origin unknown
Jordan, meanwhile, announced it had shot down a drone of unknown origin in its airspace on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.
“This morning, the Jordanian Armed Forces engaged with a drone of unknown origin that entered Jordanian airspace and was brought down in Jerash Governorate, without any injuries,” the military said of an area located around 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the capital Amman.
Though the Iran ceasefire has mostly held, drones have lately been launched from Iraq toward Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran’s allies.
Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they launched the war in late February to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities, and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers.
Iran responded to the attacks by firing on Israel, US forces, and neighboring Mideast countries. The regime also seized control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ships and ports.
The war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, though the US and Israel have said it will be removed from the country by force if not through a deal.
The Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership, which had faced a mass uprising at the start of the year, has so far withstood the onslaught.
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