Netanyahu is calling Trump daily to push a renewed Iran offensive, FT reports

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been phoning US President Donald Trump on a daily basis to press him to order a fresh military campaign against Iran, according to a Financial Times report relayed by The Times of Israel. The British newspaper based its account on an unnamed person who had been briefed on the discussions.

The Hebrew-language news site Ynet carried the same report in a breaking-news alert, saying Netanyahu is trying to convince Trump to embark on a campaign in Iran and quoting the phrase that he calls "every day". The Ynet alert did not name the outlet behind the original report.

What the Financial Times source described

According to the source cited by the Financial Times, the purpose of Netanyahu's calls is to get Trump to resume a war with Iran. The wording points to a conflict that has paused rather than one that has never begun, though neither report sets out when fighting stopped or on what terms.

The same person described resistance to that pressure. People both inside the White House and outside it who do not want a war have been working to counter Netanyahu's lobbying, the source said, as quoted in The Times of Israel's summary. Leaders in the region, the source added, have been urging Trump to avoid escalation and to put negotiations first.

None of this has been confirmed on the record by the Israeli or American side in the material available. The account rests on a single anonymous person speaking to one newspaper.

The Gulf states and Qatar's mediation

Trump himself appeared to point to the position of Washington's Gulf partners after a meeting on Monday with Qatar's prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The Times of Israel described the Qatari premier as someone who has been attempting to broker a diplomatic end to the conflict between the United States and Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, the social media platform Trump uses for many of his public statements, the president listed Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, together with unnamed others, and wrote that these states "would prefer the status quo". The excerpt published by The Times of Israel breaks off partway through the post, so the rest of Trump's explanation, including whether he shares that preference, is not in the available reporting.

Qatar is a small Gulf state that has repeatedly positioned itself as a go-between in regional disputes. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait are its neighbours on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Gulf, and all would be geographically close to any renewed fighting involving Iran.

How the two reports differ

The two outlets describe the same claim in slightly different terms. Ynet's alert speaks of persuading Trump to go out on a campaign in Iran, without saying whether this would be new or a continuation. The Times of Israel, following the Financial Times, frames it as an effort to restart a war and to launch a renewed offensive. The Times of Israel also flags the claim as reported rather than established, using the word "reportedly".

Ynet's alert is a short bulletin pointing readers to a fuller item on its site; its text in the material does not include the source, the Gulf context or the Qatari meeting.

The Netanyahu and Trump relationship

The two leaders have met in person during Trump's current term. The Times of Israel illustrated its item with a file photograph from December 29, 2025, showing the two men shaking hands as a joint press appearance wrapped up at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

What the reports do not say

• Neither report includes any response from the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem or from the White House to the claim of daily calls.
• The Financial Times source is unnamed, and no second source is cited confirming the frequency or content of the calls.
• The reports do not say what a renewed offensive would involve, when Netanyahu wants it to begin, or what Trump has said to him in reply.
• Iran's reaction, if any, is not reported.
• The full text of Trump's Truth Social post is not in the available material.