Why Does Netanyahu Call Trump Daily?

With daily calls and continuous demands, Netanyahu intensifies his moves with Trump. What is he seeking from Washington?

According to the "Financial Times" newspaper, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducts "daily communications" with US President Donald Trump to "urge him to resume military operations against Iran."

Israeli moves are met by regional diplomatic efforts to persuade the US president to give negotiations more time and avoid returning to military confrontation, according to the source.

In an indicator of preferring the diplomatic path at this stage, Trump spoke yesterday about "positive momentum toward ending the conflict," considering that launching new US attacks on Iran seems unlikely at present.

Trump wrote on his platform "Truth Social": "We are seeing positive momentum toward ending this conflict, and we will ensure the protection of American interests at all times."

He added that the United States is "on standby and ready to act," but qualified it by saying: "At this stage, such an occurrence seems highly unlikely."

But the road to settlement remains fraught with obstacles, as negotiations clash over several files including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, estimated at around 440 kilograms.

Netanyahu pushes for "escalation"
While intermediary parties seek to reach a temporary agreement paving the way for broader negotiations, Israel continues to push toward resuming the military option, according to what the newspaper reported.

At the heart of these moves stand Netanyahu's repeated contacts with the US president, as the "Financial Times" revealed, citing a source familiar with the discussions, that the Israeli prime minister "calls Trump daily to urge him to resume the war on Iran, while parties inside and outside the White House try to counter these efforts and prevent a return to military confrontation."

A source familiar with the situation in Israel indicated that Netanyahu wishes to resume military operations against Iran, but added that there is currently no "intense effort" to convince Trump to take this step.

According to the same source, regional leaders convey a different message to the US president, urging him to avoid escalation and prioritize negotiations.

Fears of a new escalation have mounted amid the stalling of mediators' efforts for weeks to break the deadlock between conflicting parties over a proposal for a temporary agreement that was supposed to be reached before the midterm elections.