Tense Trump-Netanyahu call over Iran leaves Israeli PM's 'hair on fire'

Trump told Netanyahu mediators were drafting a US-Iran "letter of intent" to end hostilities and begin 30 days of talks on Iran's nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz. Sharp disagreements emerged, with Netanyahu reportedly reacting strongly and expressing concern through Israel's envoy in Washington.

In Short

• Regional mediators refined a revised memo to narrow Washington-Tehran differences
• Iran reviewed the proposal while showing no clear sign of flexibility
• Draft talks sought stronger nuclear commitments and phased release of frozen funds

As uncertainty grows over whether the US and Israel will pursue war or diplomacy with Iran, a tense and lengthy phone call between US President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu became so difficult that the Israeli Prime Minister’s “hair was on fire after the call,” American news website Axios reported, citing sources.

During Tuesday’s call, US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that mediators were working on a “letter of intent” to be signed by Washington and Tehran to formally end the war and begin a 30-day negotiation period covering Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US source.

However, Axios, citing sources, reported sharp disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu over the path ahead, with one source saying, “Bibi’s hair was on fire after the call.” The source also said Israel's ambassador to Washington had told US lawmakers that Netanyahu was concerned by the conversation.

According to Axios, Netanyahu had also been highly worried during earlier stages of the negotiations, even though previous efforts did not produce a deal. "Bibi is always concerned," one source told Axios.

On the other hand, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said talks could succeed only if the US ended its "piracy" against Iranian ships and agreed to release frozen funds, and if Israel ended its war in Lebanon. Trump said the war could resume "very quickly" if "we don't get the right answer", but added that he was prepared to give diplomacy a few more days. "If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do," he said.

The call between Trump and Netanyahu centred on a revised peace memo drafted by Qatar and Pakistan, with input from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, to bridge gaps between Washington and Tehran. The effort comes as Trump has alternated between threatening a massive strike on Iran and insisting that an agreement can still be reached.

The sources said Netanyahu remains highly sceptical about the negotiations and wants the war to resume in order to further damage Iran's military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying critical infrastructure. Trump, however, has continued to say that a deal remains possible, while making clear that fighting could restart if talks do not succeed.

Speaking at the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, Trump said, "The only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Let's see what happens." Later the same day, he said the US and Iran were "right on the borderline" between reaching a deal and resuming the war. Trump also said Netanyahu "will do whatever I want him to do" on Iran, while adding that they had a good relationship. The two leaders have had temporary disagreements over Iran before, but have stayed closely coordinated throughout the war.

Iran has confirmed that it is reviewing an updated proposal, though Axios, citing sources, reported that there has so far been no sign of flexibility from Tehran. Pakistan, Qatar and the other mediators have spent the past several days refining the proposal. Two Arab officials and one Israeli source told Axios that Qatar recently presented the US and Iran with a new draft, while another source said that there was no separate Qatari draft and that Qatar was instead trying to bridge differences from the earlier Pakistani proposal.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that negotiations were continuing "based on Iran's 14-point proposal" and that Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi was in Tehran to assist the mediation effort. It was his second visit in less than a week.

The aim of the latest effort was to reportedly secure more concrete commitments from Iran on steps related to its nuclear programme and more detailed commitments from the US on how frozen Iranian funds would be gradually released. Although uncertainty remains if Iran were to accept the new draft or significantly change its position.

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