Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday evening with US President Donald Trump about the Iranian issue. Following the conversation, Netanyahu is expected to convene a closed-door security meeting with several senior officials: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
Since the talks began, Israel has been closely monitoring the nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, while maintaining a separate dialogue with the Trump administration. The US has issued a warning to Israel not to strike Iran during the ongoing discussions.
The nuclear talks between the US and Iran, held in recent months, have recently reached a crisis point that could lead to their collapse. This assessment is based on a series of statements from senior American and Iranian officials over the past two weeks. At the heart of the dispute is whether Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium on its own soil for what it claims is a civilian nuclear program.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has maintained a hardline stance on the nuclear negotiations, stating, "I do not believe negotiations with the US will bear results." He also addressed the uranium enrichment issue, declaring, "The claim that they will not allow Iran to enrich uranium is a major error. No one is waiting for anyone's permission."
Although Israeli officials denied it at the time, Trump revealed that he had warned Netanyahu not to undermine the talks with Iran. Tensions between the White House and Jerusalem became publicly apparent when Trump acknowledged that he told Netanyahu regarding a potential strike on Iran, "I don't think it's appropriate right now."
Roughly two weeks ago, Trump said, "We are having very good talks with Iran, and I said I don't think this is the right time because if we manage to reach a deal with oversight, and not based on trust, I don't trust anyone, we can bring in inspectors, take whatever we want, blow up whatever we want, and without any casualties. We can blow up a lab, but there won't be anyone in the lab, unlike a situation where everyone is inside and then we blow it up. These are two different ways to go about it."
