Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged US President Donald Trump to launch strikes on Iran straight after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, according to a report citing one US official and one Israeli official. The account comes as Tehran cautions that any renewed war could drag on longer than the earlier fighting.
The two leaders spoke by phone on Saturday about the state of talks with Iran. Netanyahu pushed for military action once the vote was over, while Trump preferred to let diplomatic efforts continue. The Israeli official described the exchange as “tough,” while the US official called it “direct.”
On Sunday, Trump told reporters he had discussed Iran with Netanyahu but declined to go into detail. The reported call took place while Washington and Jerusalem have repeatedly threatened to resume bombing as diplomats try to bring the wider Middle East war to an end.
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Trump signals quick strikes on remaining Iranian sites
Trump had earlier suggested the United States could rapidly hit the few targets still left in Iran. “We still have to take care of, I would say one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” he told reporters.
He singled out a location called Pickaxe Mountain, which he said needed attention. The site was described as a suspected underground nuclear complex. “We can do that all very quickly,” Trump added.
On Sunday, at a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the midterms, Trump said he might have to give Tehran “the hammer” at a time he did not specify.
Iranian officials warn of a longer and wider conflict
Iran’s army spokesman, Mohammad Akraminia, warned that a future war could last longer than the previous round of fighting. He said the American president would not be able to set the timing or the terms of its end, according to Iranian state television.
Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebbi echoed a written warning issued a day earlier by Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. “In a conflict with America, there are no geographical limitations,” Mohebbi said, also according to state television.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, urged Washington to choose diplomacy. He said Tehran hoped the other side would act rationally, and that Iran remained ready for both defence and diplomacy, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Saturday that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive talks. Rezaei said he had noticed a positive shift in the American “tone” but had not yet replied. He added that Tehran had previously made clear that, unless its conditions were met, the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen and no negotiations would take place.
Those conditions include:
- unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad
- ending the months-long US naval blockade of Iranian ports
- lifting longstanding sanctions
- bringing the war to an end on all fronts
The war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Since then, Tehran has claimed control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route, and has repeatedly targeted vessels that tried to cross without its permission. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region, and Iran-aligned armed groups joined the fighting in Lebanon and Yemen. The United States has, in turn, imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Gulf states brace for renewed fighting as Tehran residents react
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, said on Sunday that the United Arab Emirates hoped diplomatic exchanges would lead to a breakthrough, but was preparing for the worst. “It is not the interest of the region to go through another round,” he told a conference in Manama, adding that the country was, as it had shown before, braced for the worst.
In Tehran, some residents said they felt powerless as threats of renewed fighting grew. “The news coming in is truly worrying. However… there is nothing I can actually do about it,” said Mohadese, a 27-year-old health inspector, speaking to a news agency.
Others said they were not worried about another conflict. “We do not fear another war; we have been at war for 48 years now — we are always at war,” said Ebrahim, a 48-year-old vendor in downtown Tehran.
