Netanyahu Presses Trump to Strike Iran Right After Midterms as Trump Gives Talks Time
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urging President Trump to strike Iran as soon as Tuesday’s midterm elections are over, but Trump wants to give negotiations more time.
The two leaders held a candid phone call Saturday about the state of U.S. talks with Iran and how quickly to return to combat, Axios reported, citing one Israeli and one U.S. source.
Netanyahu is pressing for immediate action after the vote. Trump, for now, prefers to let negotiations play out, a strategy the sources said Netanyahu is concerned about.
Trump is pursuing two tracks at once, as he did before Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 and Operation Epic Fury in February, seeking a deal while preparing for a possible return to major combat.
Qatari mediators met with Iranian officials Sunday for the third straight day, trying to secure an agreement that would restart direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Pickaxe Mountain in the Crosshairs
Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that one or two Iranian nuclear sites remain potential targets, the Times of Israel reported.
“You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly,” Trump said.
He did not suggest a nuclear strike was on the table. In an Oct. 16 interview with Newsmax, Trump explicitly ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran.
Commentator Tucker Carlson nonetheless set off alarms Sunday night with a lengthy post on X claiming the administration could be days away from a nuclear strike on Pickaxe Mountain, Anadolu Agency reported.
Carlson’s claims are unconfirmed. He relied on unnamed sources, quoting one as saying, “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” and argued conventional weapons cannot reach the site’s deep tunnels.
Carlson also alleged that Netanyahu has been pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper to resume major combat operations, Ynet reported.
He also claimed Trump could decide by Nov. 7 and that Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff are urging a diplomatic deal. None of those claims has been independently verified.
The White House pushed back without detail. An official said the administration does not comment on sensitive military plans and that Trump is keeping all options open to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump has not decided whether to resume strikes, Middle East Eye reported.
Iran denies any nuclear activity at the Pickaxe Mountain complex, and its supreme leader has warned Washington and Israel against further attacks.
Netanyahu’s push comes amid political uncertainty at home. An Oct. 28 Israeli election left neither his bloc nor the opposition with a clear majority, Axios noted.
For Trump, the timing matters. Holding off until after Tuesday keeps a new war out of the campaign’s final days, while leaving the decision on Iran squarely on the table for next week.
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