Posted on 04/22/2025 5:24:44 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke via phone on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump, the American leader said, declaring that the pair “are on the same side of every issue.”
The call covered “numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc.,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, adding that the conversation went “very well.”
Notably, Trump did not include Gaza or the 59 hostages being held there in his list of topics discussed amid the ongoing impasse in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. However, according to a report in Axios, the pair did talk about efforts to reach a hostage release deal, with the Trump administration pushing for a breakthrough and Israel wary of any agreement that would end the war.
There was no immediate readout of the call from the Israeli side, but Netanyahu reposted Trump’s post, commenting, “Thank you, President Trump!”
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the call was short and that the two discussed Iran’s nuclear program, among other topics.
The conversation marked their first publicly known call since Netanyahu met with Trump in the White House two weeks ago after he was hastily summoned to Washington. The Israeli prime minister arrived in DC planning to discuss tariffs, but learned upon landing that he was there for a heads-up about the already-made US decision to enter nuclear talks with Iran.
Netanyahu has since stated that Israel does not oppose talks that lead to Iran completely dismantling its nuclear program, but Trump officials at times have indicated that they’d be willing to accept Iran keeping its nuclear facilities, while adhering to strict caps on its uranium enrichment akin to the deal that was signed in 2015 during the Obama administration.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Trump blocked an Israeli plan for a series of joint strikes next month on Iranian nuclear facilities to instead pursue diplomatic means.
Asked about the report at the time, Trump said that “I wouldn’t say ‘waved off’” a joint attack on Iran, but then he added, “I’m not in a rush to do it.”
Tehran and Washington have held two rounds of indirect talks in Muscat and Rome since April 12, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff leading the negotiations.
Oman said the third round, also set for Saturday, would again be held in Muscat.
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi prior to negotiations with US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, Oman, April 12, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP) The call with Trump came in the middle of a security cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu on Tuesday evening.
According to the Israel Hayom daily, only about half of the invited ministers showed up for the meeting, and Netanyahu was absent for a significant chunk of the proceedings due to the phone call.
Earlier Tuesday, a source told The Times of Israel that Iran’s nuclear program and US-Iran talks would be on the agenda for the security cabinet meeting. According to Channel 13 news, the cabinet was also to hear updates from the ongoing negotiations, and would also discuss the possibility of expanding the military campaign in Gaza.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, a group of family members of hostages being held in Gaza held a press conference in Tel Aviv, begging the government to push ahead with negotiations and asking the public not to forget their loved ones during the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran, said the idea of “celebrating” independence right now makes her uncomfortable.
Israel must not “become a society that normalizes a situation in which our loved ones are in Gaza,” she declared. “Instead of independence celebrations, hold solidarity rallies. Make sure the yellow flags are raised everywhere. Read the names of the 59 hostages at every opportunity,” she added. “We must not continue to celebrate as if we have complete independence.”
Yotam Cohen, the brother of captive IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen, said that for the country to mark Memorial Day and Independence Day without the return of all remaining captives is “a sin against the values of the state and Israel’s heritage.”
Shortly after the phone call with Netanyahu, the White House confirmed that Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16.
The itinerary does not include a stop in Israel, but Trump has said that it’s possible other stops could be added.
It will be his first trip to the region in his second term.
Saudi Arabia was originally supposed to be his first destination overseas upon returning to the White House, but Trump announced Monday that he would be attending Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome at the end of the week.
Asked later Tuesday by reporters whether he will prevent Hamas from having any role in the post-war governance of Gaza and whether the terror group will have to be permanently eradicated as part of a ceasefire sought by the US, Trump responded, “We’re not going to let Hamas do that, and we’re going to see what happens with Gaza.”
Hamas officials have told mediators that they are prepared to cede governing control of Gaza but will not agree to disarm — a key demand of both Israel and the United States.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023 — “that very special date” — would not have happened if he were president.
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