Netanyahu, Trump discuss possible renewed fighting against Iran over phone

Jerusalem, May 18 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of renewing fighting against Iran over phone, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported.

The broadcaster, citing a senior Israeli official, said the United States is expected to carry out attacks jointly with Israel if it resumes the war against Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.

Later in the evening, Netanyahu convened a cabinet meeting, during which the multiple fronts on which Israel is fighting were discussed, a government official told Xinhua.

The developments came after Trump signaled that Washington could escalate its confrontation with Iran, warning in a post on his social media platform that “for Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get moving, fast, or there won’t be anything left of them.”

Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Following the truce, Iranian and US delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.

Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistani mediation.

Meanwhile, Trump warned that if Tehran failed to reach a peace agreement with the US, it would face “a very bad time”.

“If they don’t, they’re going to have a bad time. A very bad time. They had better make a deal,” Trump told French media. He also shared an AI-generated graphic of him and a US Navy admiral in front of stormy waters, and the line: “It was calm before the storm.”

It comes after Trump spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran on Sunday as the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu held a security meeting with his cabinet, Israeli media reports.

–IANS

int/rs