Trump Netanyahu call: Israeli PM’s office rejects ‘shouting match from hell’ report as fake news
A senior Israeli official confirmed the call happened but said it was very much not a difficult conversation.
Written with AI assistance from the sources listed below, then checked against them and reviewed by an editor. How our newsroom works
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has rejected reports of a heated Trump Netanyahu call about Iran, saying “Fake news, complete nonsense”, Ynetnews reported on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the weekend conversation told Ynet it was an unusually difficult exchange, and one called it “a shouting match from hell.” The account rests on unnamed sources and is disputed.
What Ynet reported about the Trump Netanyahu call
Ynet said the call centred on whether to resume the war with Iran. A senior Israeli official confirmed that the call took place but told the newspaper it was “very much not a difficult conversation.” Netanyahu’s office gave the “fake news” line in response to the shouting match claim, according to Just The News.
The same outlet reported that Netanyahu pressed Trump to restart the war so that Iran’s government could be toppled, while Trump is pursuing a deal with Tehran. Netanyahu said in remarks relayed by Ynet: “The only way to permanently remove this existential threat is by toppling the ayatollah regime.”
Key points
- Weekend: the call between the two leaders took place, per Ynet.
- Monday: Trump met Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House, per Ynet.
- Tuesday: Qatar said it had received positive responses from Washington and Tehran on mediation, per Middle East Monitor.
- Every day: the Financial Times reported that Netanyahu calls Trump daily to urge renewed strikes, per Middle East Monitor.
Iran war: what Trump and Rubio said
Trump told reporters on Monday that “taking the military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing”, while saying US forces remained “locked and loaded”, Ynet reported. He also spoke of “positive momentum” toward ending the conflict. Middle East Monitor said Trump named Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait as opposed to a new campaign.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more guarded. “I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough,” Rubio said, adding that Iranian demands were in some cases “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”
Doha mediation and Arab concern
The Financial Times reported that Arab leaders are increasingly concerned that Netanyahu is pressing Trump to restart the war. A diplomat familiar with the discussions told the paper that Netanyahu calls the US president every day, while figures inside and outside the White House are trying to block a return to strikes, according to Ynet.
Earlier this week the war had already featured in our report on Treasury Secretary Bessent being moved to a military base after Iranian threats. US politics is also unsettled, as our report on Trump and the midterm results noted.
What happens next after the Trump Netanyahu call
No timeline has been set. Doha is still mediating contacts between Washington and Tehran, and Qatar said uncertainty remained about the prospects of an agreement. Whether the Trump Netanyahu call changes the debate over renewed strikes is not clear from the reports, since the only account of its tone comes from unnamed sources and has been denied.
Whether the US resumes strikes on Iran or signs a deal through Qatar affects oil, Gulf security and Israel's relationship with Washington. The only account of the call's tone comes from unnamed sources and has been denied, so the leaders' public statements are the firmer guide to what happens next.