Netanyahu presses Trump to strike Iran ‘immediately’ after US midterm elections, Axios reports

TEHRAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed US President Donald Trump to launch strikes against Iran immediately after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, as Tehran warns that any renewed war could last longer than the previous conflict, Axios has reported.

The two leaders discussed the state of negotiations with Iran during a phone call on Saturday, with Netanyahu urging Trump to attack the country after the elections, while the US president favoured allowing diplomatic efforts to continue, according to Axios, which cited one US and one Israeli official.

The Israeli official described the conversation as “tough”, while the US official called it “direct”, the publication reported.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump confirmed that he had discussed Iran with Netanyahu but declined to elaborate.

The reported conversation came amid repeated threats by the United States and Israel to resume bombardments as diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war continue.

Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned that any renewed conflict could last longer than the previous round of fighting.

“A potential future war could last longer than previous conflict, and the American president would not be in a position to dictate the timing or the conditions of its conclusion,” he said, according to Iranian state television.

His remarks followed Trump’s suggestion that the United States could swiftly strike its remaining targets in Iran.

“We still have to take care of, I would say one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” Trump told reporters.

“You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly,” he added, referring to a suspected underground nuclear complex.

Trump reiterated his threat on Sunday at a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the midterm elections, saying he might have to give Tehran “the hammer” at an unspecified time.

Iran warns of wider conflict

Top military and political officials in Iran have warned against any fresh attack.

Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebbi on Sunday echoed a warning issued a day earlier by Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written message.

“In a conflict with America, there are no geographical limitations; a vast theatre has been defined for inflicting damage upon the enemy,” Mohebbi said, according to Iranian state television.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Washington to pursue diplomacy.

“We hope the other side will exercise rationality and choose diplomacy,” he said, adding that Iran “remains prepared for both defence and diplomacy”, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Tehran sets conditions for negotiations

The warnings came as Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei disclosed on Saturday that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive talks.

Rezaei noted what he described as a positive change in the US side’s “tone” but said he had yet to respond.

He said Tehran had previously told Washington that unless its conditions were met, “neither would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened nor would there be any negotiations”.

The conditions include unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad, ending the months-long US naval blockade of Iranian ports, lifting longstanding sanctions and bringing the war to an end on all fronts.

Since the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran has claimed control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, and repeatedly targeted vessels attempting to cross without its authorisation.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the region, while Iran-aligned armed groups joined the fighting in Lebanon and Yemen.

The United States has imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

Gulf states prepare for renewed fighting

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, said on Sunday that the United Arab Emirates hoped diplomatic exchanges would produce a breakthrough but was preparing for the worst.

“It is not the interest of the region to go through another round… But I think we’re also, as we’ve shown before, braced for the worst,” he told a conference in Manama.

In Tehran, some residents described feeling helpless as threats of renewed fighting mounted.

“The news coming in is truly worrying. However… there is nothing I can actually do about it,” Mohadese, a 27-year-old health inspector, told AFP.

Others, however, said they were not concerned 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.