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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call Monday amid escalating tensions over stalled US–Iran nuclear negotiations and growing talk about a potential Israeli military strike on Iran.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’ve been following along, the US–Iran nuclear talks are pretty touch-and-go, swinging unpredictably between cautious optimism and open hostility from week to week. One moment, negotiators hint at progress behind closed doors; the next, top Iranian officials like Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly dismiss the talks as futile, criticizing the United States over “nonsense” demands to halt uranium enrichment entirely. Both sides claim to defend their red lines, which basically consist of Iran insisting it will never stop enrichment, while the US maintains that Iran must stop enrichment. Currently, Iran is enriching uranium at 60% purity, a level far beyond the civilian threshold and just a short technical leap from weapons-grade 90%, raising alarms in the US, Israel, and among European allies. EU & Israeli officials have grown increasingly skeptical, privately saying that Iran is dragging out negotiations to advance its program and shorten its nuclear “breakout time.”
What’s going on now: In a notable development, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a 40-minute phone call on Monday to discuss the escalating tensions surrounding the US–Iran nuclear negotiations and Israel’s military considerations. According to a readout from Netanyahu’s office, Trump informed the Prime Minister that the United States had presented a “reasonable proposal” to Iran and expected a response in the coming days. Trump later confirmed the call went “very well,” noting that the US is “trying to make a deal so that there’s no destruction and death,” but also acknowledged the challenges, stating, “They’re just asking for things that you can’t do. They seek enrichment. We can’t have enrichment.”
The call came as Israeli defense and intelligence officials continued intensive preparations for a potential military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to multiple Israeli media outlets. These preparations include high-level security consultations attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Mossad Chief David Barnea, and other senior figures. Netanyahu is said to have instructed officials to coordinate closely with the US, with Mossad leadership reportedly meeting with American envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of the next round of talks.
Notably, the call between Netanyahu and Trump came on the same day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned against a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Director General Rafael Grossi warned that such an operation could backfire, pushing Iran to “pursue a nuclear weapon or withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
