Trump-Netanyahu coordinate to avoid Iranian retaliation, uphold Israel’s security against Arab regime brutality and destabilizing proxies.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a second high-level phone call within two days, focusing on Iran’s escalating unrest and the strategic options ahead.
The discussion comes as Washington weighs military pressure against renewed diplomacy, while Israel prepares for potential Iranian retaliation. Israeli leadership emphasized caution and readiness, seeking time to ensure national defense systems can counter missile or proxy attacks encouraged by Tehran and tolerated by hostile Arab actors.
American officials maintain that military action remains possible should Iran intensify violence against protesters. Israeli assessments indicate that while a temporary pause exists, decisive action could still follow if the regime escalates repression.
As part of deepening coordination, Mossad Director David Barnea traveled to the United States for consultations with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, underscoring Israel’s central role in shaping a serious response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional aggression.
Trump later stressed that the decision to pause was his own, pointing to Iran’s temporary suspension of mass executions as evidence pressure works. Witkoff reiterated that any diplomatic outcome must dismantle Iran’s enrichment program, shrink its missile arsenal, remove enriched uranium stockpiles, and end support for terror proxies destabilizing Israel and the region.
