Netanyahu expresses concern over US handling of Iran nuclear file in call with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed concern over the US administration’s handling of Iran’s nuclear file during a phone call with President Donald Trump, according to Israeli media on Sunday.

Netanyahu also voiced worries over a possible linkage of a ceasefire in Lebanon and a potential US-Iran agreement, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported, citing an informed Israeli source.

This came after Trump on Saturday said an agreement with Iran to end the war was “largely negotiated” and awaited finalization, following Pakistani army chief Asim Munir’s visit to Tehran, his second in recent weeks.

Netanyahu and the Israeli security establishment believe that “the Iranians are stalling to buy time, and that Tehran will announce its unwillingness to make concession after 60 days,” the source said.

In a related development, the Israeli Security Cabinet is set to convene Sunday evening amid reports of progress in negotiations between Washington and Tehran, KAN added.

Citing a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the broadcaster said Washington keeps Tel Aviv informed about the ongoing negotiations.

Netanyahu, during a conversation Saturday night with Trump, affirmed that Israel “will maintain its freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,” the statement said.

Channel 12 quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that the emerging agreement between Washington and Tehran is “bad.”

It sends a message that the Strait of Hormuz is “a weapon in Iran’s hands no less effective than a nuclear weapon,” the source told the channel.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. Tehran retaliated with strikes targeting Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation and was later extended by Trump indefinitely.