Media: Trump presses Netanyahu in direct call ahead of NATO summit

US President Donald Trump held a candid and resolute phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while en route to the NATO summit in The Hague, White House sources reveal.

According to an official familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity, Trump was “exceptionally firm and direct with Prime Minister Netanyahu about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire,” Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The official further noted that Netanyahu acknowledged the gravity of the situation and expressed understanding of the President’s concerns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has confirmed that the Israeli Air Force targeted an Iranian radar installation in response to Iran’s missile attack in early hours of June 24. However, in a notable gesture of restraint, the statement emphasized that further military action was withheld following an appeal from US President Donald Trump.

“Following President Trump’s conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from additional attacks,” the statement read, underscoring the influence of American diplomacy in the rapidly escalating confrontation.

Meanwhile, President Trump has labelled the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran the “12 Day War,” drawing a historical parallel to the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel fought against a coalition of Arab states. The phrase signals a possible codification of the current hostilities in the geopolitical lexicon.

The escalation began on June 13, when Israel launched a preemptive wave of strikes on Iranian sites, citing intelligence that Tehran was nearing a critical threshold in its nuclear program. Since then, Iran has responded with a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, prompting ongoing retaliatory operations by Israeli forces against Iranian assets.

By Vafa Guliyeva