US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening to discuss the escalating situation in Iran, Axios reported on Friday, citing two sources familiar with the conversation.
It was the second call between the two leaders in as many days, as Trump weighs options ranging from a potential US military strike to renewed diplomatic engagement with a regime facing widespread protests and internal turmoil.
Both the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the conversations.
During their first call on Wednesday, Netanyahu urged Trump to delay military action against Iran to allow Israel more time to prepare for possible Iranian retaliation, according to Axios, which added that Netanyahu’s request was among the factors that led Trump to postpone orders for the US military to advance with a strike.
US officials say military action remains an option if Iran resumes killing protesters, while Israeli officials assess that a strike could still occur in the coming days despite the temporary pause.
Axios reported earlier that Netanyahu has dispatched Mossad Director David Barnea to the United States for consultations on Iran. Barnea is expected to meet White House envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on Friday.
The report on the second phone call between Trump and Netanyahu was published before Trump was asked by reporters whether Arab and Israeli officials convinced him not to strike Iran, and replied, “No one convinced me. I convinced myself."
“You had, yesterday, scheduled, over 800 hangings. They didn't hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact," he added.
Speaking at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) conference in Miami on Thursday night, Witkoff said he hopes for a diplomatic resolution with Iran. He stressed that any agreement must address Iran’s uranium enrichment, reduce its ballistic missile inventory, remove the 2,000 kilograms of enriched uranium currently held by Tehran, and halt Iranian support for regional proxies.
"I think if Iran, which is stumbling it its economy. It's a pretty serious situation. Inflation is well north of 50%," Witkoff said. "If they want to come back to the League of Nations, we can solve those four problems diplomatically and that would be a good resolution and the alternative will be a bad one."
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)