JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressures for new wave of strikes against Iran after Tuesday midterm elections in the United States, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter.
A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu form an emergency government after him and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority during last week’s elections. American President Donald Trump alternated between threats of major strikes and pressure for an agreement with Iran.
Both officials said diplomatic efforts had progressed, with Qatari mediators holding two rounds of talks last week with Iranian officials. Both officials said the mediators were trying to come up with a framework for Iran to stop its attacks in the country. Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its blockade on Iranian ports.
They said further talks were planned this week. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they received from U.S. and, in one case, Israeli officials.
An official said Netanyahu was working with senior U.S. administration officials to persuade Trump to launch a rapid but extensive air campaign and that the president did not appear to have made a decision.
Netanyahu pushed for strikes during a call this weekend with Trump, who would not commit to military action, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Other U.S. allies in the Middle East are warning of further strikes, saying it would destabilize the region and could lead to Houthi rebels allied with Iran in Yemen to step up their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping, a third regional official said. Iran-backed militias in Iraq could also get involved.
That official, as well as the person familiar with the Netanyahu-Trump call, were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli government had no immediate comment. The White House did not directly respond to questions about Netanyahu and Trump’s discussions about potential new strikes during the weekend call.
Trump says he had a ‘very good’ call with Netanyahu
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he and Netanyahu had a “very good” call the day before. He said they discussed Iran, but gave no details. Netanyahu had pushed for new strikes even before the Israeli election, seeking to highlight his security credentials to the public. deeply marked by the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Asked at a news conference Saturday about the possibility of further U.S. strikes against Iran and Iranian retaliation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not say what would happen next, but reiterated that the Trump administration preferred a diplomatic solution and that talks were ongoing.
“He hasn’t made a decision,” Rubio said, referring to Trump.
“He would prefer to resolve the issue diplomatically,” Rubio said, adding that Trump has “incredible confidence” in military action if necessary.
Netanyahu has not made any comments on Iran since the election, and his office has not heard from the latest call with Trump.
“The conflict in the Gulf between the United States and Iran is really between Qatar and Israel,” Andreas Krieg, a professor at King’s College London who previously worked as an advisor to the Qatari military, told X.
“Qatar is working tirelessly on a diplomatic path with the support of the region while Israel is seeking military means to throw the region under the bus.”
Iran says it is ready for war while continuing its diplomacy
Iran wants guarantees that the United States will implement its commitments in any deal. The United States and Israel twice attacked Iran while the country was engaged in negotiations over its controversial nuclear program.
Iranian officials publicly declare that they are ready for war or diplomacy.
The new supreme leader, the Ayatollah Mojtaba Khameneimet with Iranian military leaders and said the response to “any type and level of threat” from the United States or Israel should be immediate and without “geographical limitations,” and urged expanding the list of potential targets.
A recent analysis According to the Associated Press, Iranian strikes on more than two dozen U.S. bases since the start of the war have caused billions of dollars in property damage.
Khamenei has not been seen publicly since the first Israeli and US strikes on February 28. killed his fatherthe former supreme leader.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, told state television that “the tone has completely changed” from the United States and called it a “very good sign.” He gave no details about the letter he received from US Vice President JD Vance, which Iran acknowledged last week, and said he had not responded.
Arab allies are caught in the middle
October saw the highest number of attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since March, as Iran attempted to step up economic pressure on the United States to get it to lift its blockade.
THE the mood was dark at the Manama Dialogue, an annual security summit in Bahrain hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told participants that the US and Iranian positions are very different and that “if these positions are not brought together, then we will have to worry about the worst.”
Gulf countries have spent billions of dollars to strengthen their defense capabilities since the start of the war. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the meeting in Bahrain that the next escalation “will be more dangerous, more destructive and will lead nowhere.”
China will send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia between early and mid-November, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters on Monday.
“The Middle East Gulf region should not become an arena of great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflicts,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Sultan of Oman, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. China and Oman have called for a return to dialogue.
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Magdy reported from New York and Madhani from Washington. Victoria Eastwood in Cairo, Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Katie Marie Davies in London contributed to this report.
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