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Photo: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain). File photo from January 27, 2020, not a photo of Saturday's phone call.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US President Donald Trump to resume military strikes against Iran immediately after Tuesday's midterm elections, Axios reported on Sunday, in a phone call that exposed a sharp difference between the two leaders over how much more time diplomacy should get.
Trump, by contrast, wants to give negotiations with Tehran more time before considering renewed strikes, according to Axios, which cited one Israeli source and one US source familiar with the Saturday call. An Israeli source described the conversation as "tough," while a US source called it "direct." The White House and Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the report, Axios said.
Trump himself confirmed on Sunday that he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed Iran, describing it as a "very good talk" without giving further details. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, he said negotiations with Iran were "going fine" and that he was "not in much of a hurry," while adding that Tehran wanted a deal but was "not very reliable" because it had made agreements and then backed out.
Two tracks at once
According to Axios, Trump is pursuing parallel tracks: seeking an agreement that could restart peace talks with Iran while keeping preparations under way for a possible return to major combat operations after the elections. That dual approach has defined the past week, as Qatari mediators met Iranian officials in Doha for a third consecutive day on Sunday, and as Washington has warned Gulf allies that strikes could come as early as November 4 — a date Washington has not publicly confirmed.
The diplomatic track has included high-level outreach. Vice President JD Vance last week sent a letter to Iran's national security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, about restarting negotiations, Axios reported, marking the highest-level US outreach to Tehran in several months. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said no final agreement has been reached and that progress depends on the United States addressing Iran's questions, while also saying no direct talks are taking place with the US, according to the Associated Press.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Trump had not decided whether to launch further military action and preferred a diplomatic solution. Trump has said the United States would not launch new attacks before Tuesday's vote, but he has not ruled out further action afterwards, and on Sunday he said the conflict with Iran would end soon, "one way or the other."
Why Netanyahu is pushing now
Netanyahu's concern, as reported by Axios, is that letting diplomacy play out risks losing momentum against Iran's nuclear programme. Gulf states, meanwhile, fear Iranian retaliation if Washington resumes strikes, and have been warned by US officials to prepare for possible action after the election and possible Iranian retaliation against energy infrastructure and other critical sites.
Markets moved on the diplomacy signal on Monday. Oil prices slid more than 3 percent in morning trading as Trump was reported to want more time for talks, easing concerns about further supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which about a fifth of the world's oil moves. The slide reflected hopes for a deal, not a deal itself: no agreement has been announced, and the Doha round ended without a breakthrough.
What happens next
Three questions will decide the week. First, whether Washington answers the condensed Iranian proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz within two days, and whether that answer comes before or after Tuesday's vote. Second, whether a follow-up meeting is convened, as officials briefed on the Doha talks have said is possible. Third, whether the Trump-Netanyahu difference hardens into an open split — or whether the "very good talk" Trump described produces a shared timetable after the ballots are counted.
For now, the confirmed facts are narrow: the call happened, Trump confirmed it, Netanyahu's push for strikes immediately after the midterms and Trump's preference for more diplomacy are as reported by Axios from two sources, and neither government has publicly confirmed a strike timetable. Everything beyond that — including when, or whether, combat resumes — remains undecided.
Sources: Axios, November 2, 2026, as reported by The Times of India, Business Today, Haaretz and The Economic Times; The National, November 2, 2026. The account of the call is as reported by Axios from one Israeli and one US source; the White House and Netanyahu's office declined to comment.