Israeli media reported Monday that a recent phone call between Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and President Donald Trump turned contentious, challenging earlier reports that suggested the two leaders were aligned on their strategy to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Channel 12 News revealed that the call was filled with tension, with Trump reportedly saying to Netanyahu: “I want a diplomatic solution with the Iranians. I believe in my ability to make a good deal.” According to the report, Trump also stressed his preference for a negotiated agreement that would work for both parties.
This characterization of the discussion stood in stark contrast to public statements claiming the two leaders had concluded the call with a shared perspective.
The Prime Minister’s Office quickly pushed back against the report, telling the network that Netanyahu had not engaged in “a tense conversation” with Trump.
Following the call, Netanyahu’s office released a statement claiming that both he and Trump “agreed on the need to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.”
Trump, meanwhile, has expressed optimism over the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran, saying on Sunday that “real progress” was being made and hinting that “good news” might be forthcoming. However, Iran’s foreign ministry responded Monday by stating that no date had been fixed for further negotiations, and reiterated that Iran would not agree to temporarily stop uranium enrichment, a key demand from the U.S.
News of the friction between Netanyahu and Trump broke shortly after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while visiting Israel, gave an interview to Fox News detailing her recent discussions in Yerushalayim. “President Trump specifically sent me here to speak with the prime minister about how negotiations are going and how important it is that we stay united and let this process play out,” she said.
Noem, who previously served as governor of South Dakota and is a close ally of Trump, described her meeting with Netanyahu as “very candid.” When asked to elaborate, she declined to disclose the details of Trump’s private message, but noted that Netanyahu’s aides later told her they “don’t remember a bilateral meeting that was quite that candid and direct.”
She said she conveyed to Netanyahu “how we really felt about the importance of Israel, our support for Israel, but this negotiation is critically important too.”
“We are on a short timeframe here. We aren’t talking weeks or months or years before President Trump will make a decision on what’s going to happen with Iran. [The Iranians] have been given a very short time frame, a matter of days, and I asked the prime minister to work with President Trump to make sure we’re making wise decisions together,” Noem continued.
When asked if she thought Israel had paused plans for a military strike against Iran—plans widely believed to be under consideration—Noem was direct in her response. “The president will never accept a nuclear capable Iran. He will never accept them having nuclear weapons and building the capacity to that,” she said. “The intelligence information that Israel has and shares with the United States, and which we also have, and are using for those conversations, is critically important. I think the message to the American people is is that we have a president who wants peace, but who will not tolerate a nuclear Iran capability in the future.”
“But he wants this prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to be on the same page with him.”
Asked what Israel’s position is regarding Iran, Noem said both Netanyahu and the Trump administration remain skeptical of Tehran’s intentions.
“I don’t blame him one bit. His people have been devastated by their horrific violence,” she said, referring to Iranian and proxy attacks on Israel. “But [Netanyahu] also needs America, and he knows he needs America, and needs our president to be his ally and to work together. We are stronger when are united, and that is something that we will deal with together, but this conversation needs to be honest, frank, but we need to go forward recognizing that Iran will never have the capability to produce nuclear weapons.”
A prior statement issued by Netanyahu’s office following his meeting with Noem stated that she had “expressed unwavering support for the prime minister and the State of Israel,” but did not include any reference to Iran or the nuclear discussions.
{Matzav.com}