Trump says ‘Netanyahu will do what I want him to do’ amid reports of rift over Iran strikes | Today’s news
As the United States and Iran discuss possible peace terms to end the war in West Asia, there have been reports of a disagreement between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over renewed strikes on Iran. Axios first reported on the tense phone call between Trump and Netanyahu.
Donald Trump is reportedly willing to wait a few days before reaching a final deal with Iran, while Netanyahu wants to renew strikes to degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.
Amid the disagreement, Donald Trump was also quoted as saying that Netanyahu would do “anything I want him to do (in Iran)” and that “he is a great person who is not treated well in Israel.”
During the phone call with Trump, according to a CNN report, Netanyahu told the US president that he believed the delay in striking Iran was a “mistake” and that it only benefits the Iranian regime. But Trump thinks a deal can be reached.
On Tuesday, May 20, Trump announced that he was delaying the attack on Iran at the request of Arab countries and that he believed that the United States was very close to a deal.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said Iran was eager to negotiate after facing a lot of pressure. “…We’re going to end that war very quickly. They want to make a deal so bad… You’re going to see oil prices plummet. They’re going to go down. There’s so much oil out there that they’re going to go down,” he said.
US Vice President JD Vance also expressed hope for a diplomatic solution to the conflict after weeks of stalemate since the ceasefire agreement.
“There’s been a lot of progress, but we’re going to keep at it and eventually we’ll either make a deal or we won’t,” Vance said, adding that there was an “option B” of resuming the strikes.
He said, “But that’s not what the president wants. And I don’t think the Iranians want that either.”
Later on Wednesday, Trump said the US and Iran were “right on the edge” between reaching a deal and resuming war.
“It’s right on the edge, believe me. If we don’t get the right answers, it’s going very fast. We’re all ready to go. We’ve got to get the right answers — it would have to be a complete 100 percent good answer,” Trump told reporters.
