UNITED States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in a heated telephone conversation over the preceding days, which reportedly deteriorated into an acrimonious exchange amid ongoing disagreements regarding the course of the war with Iran, according to Israeli media reports. According to reports from Israeli news organisations ‘Ynet’ and ‘Yedioth Ahronoth’, the Israeli leader repeatedly pushed for renewed military action, whereas the American President preferred allowing ongoing peace negotiations with Tehran to continue. Netanyahu has consistently argued that Washington should resume strikes and actively pursue regime change within the Islamic Republic, while Trump has favoured maintaining economic pressure to secure diplomatic concessions from Tehran. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office rejected claims that the conversation became confrontational, describing the reports as “fake news”. Israeli news outlets Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu repeatedly urged Trump to restart the war during the call.

 

Trump, however, continued to back a diplomatic approach as talks with Iran progressed. Sources quoted by both outlets described the conversation as having descended into a “shouting match from hell”. A senior Israeli official confirmed that the two leaders spoke over the weekend but denied that any confrontation had taken place. Trump and Netanyahu have previously had heated telephone exchanges over the conflict. Following several disagreements in June, Trump told ‘The Post’ that he had called Netanyahu “*** crazy” during one conversation. The latest reports emerged days after the Financial Times said Netanyahu had been telephoning Trump daily to persuade him to resume an all-out war. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, is facing uncertainty over his position after losing seats in the general election held in October.

 

Netanyahu has continued to argue that Washington must restart attacks on Iran and pursue regime change. Addressing the 26th Knesset Assembly on Tuesday, he said replacing Iran’s leadership was the only way to end what he described as Tehran’s reign of terror and halt its nuclear programme. “Iran is working to renew the nuclear threat. The only way to permanently remove this existential threat is by toppling the ayatollah regime,” Netanyahu said. Trump has resisted calls to resume the conflict, choosing instead to let the US economic pressure campaign continue in an effort to compel Iran to make concessions. Asked during a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday whether he would restart the war, Trump said he did not think “there’s any reason to”. The reported exchange underscored the leaders’ differing positions, with Netanyahu seeking renewed military action and regime change in Iran.