US President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “be careful” and pressed him to halt a major retaliatory operation against Iran after the latter launched a first strike at the former since April’s fragile ceasefire. The call helped avert what Israeli and US officials said could have been the largest wave of Israeli strikes since the April ceasefire.Trump said he directly warned Netanyahu as Israel prepared attacks on dozens of sensitive Iranian targets. “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” Axios reported citing Trump. Following the call, Netanyahu agreed to stand down provided Iran did not launch further attacks, according to an Israeli source.The intervention came after a fresh exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, the first since their ceasefire began two months ago. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel on Sunday, prompting Israeli retaliatory strikes on military targets in western and central Iran. By Monday, both sides had signalled a halt to hostilities, with Iran stating it would stop attacks before Netanyahu announced that Israeli strikes would cease “for now”.Trump later said that he had appealed to Netanyahu’s judgment rather than issuing a direct order. “All I did is say, ‘We have to use sense’. We’re very close to signing a very powerful deal, a very good deal,” BBC reported citing Trump, referring to ongoing negotiations with Iran.According to Trump, several countries in the region had contacted Washington seeking US intervention.“These countries were very concerned. They love the deal that we have been negotiating,” he said, adding that his administration had also received messages from Iran indicating it would stop firing if Israel did the same, according to an Axios report.Trump said Israel had provided only limited notice of its retaliatory action.“They were already on their way. But eventually I had [the Israeli strike] limited,” Trump said. An Israeli official confirmed that Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials also consulted US secretary of state Marco Rubio to reach an understanding over potential targets.
From ‘f****** crazy’ to ‘be careful’
Sources on both sides described Trump’s latest conversation with Netanyahu as markedly calmer than an earlier exchange several days ago. One US official characterised the latest call as “polite”, while another noted that “nobody shouted”. The earlier discussion had reportedly seen Trump describe Netanyahu as “f****** crazy”.During the call, Netanyahu argued that failing to respond to Iran’s missile attack would weaken both Israel’s and America’s standing. He maintained that inaction would signal that Iran could deter military action by either country, Axios reported citing an Israeli source.While Trump made clear he opposed a major Israeli retaliation, officials said the message stopped short of an explicit prohibition. “There is no way Bibi could have interpreted what the president told him as an agreement. He was expressly told the president didn’t support it, but he does what he does,” a US official said.
Trump’s push for negotiations with Tehran
Trump has continued to argue that diplomacy remains the preferred path. He said a new agreement with Tehran could be reached soon and claimed it would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “It is going to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and stop enrichment. It is a phenomenal deal. We are getting everything we wanted,” he said.Iran, however, remains sceptical. Parliamentary Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said Trump’s recent statements contradicted previously agreed understandings, adding: “We have no trust in the other side.”
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