Trump Warns Netanyahu, Says He Helped Limit Israel’s Strike on Iran
Trump warns Netanyahu and says he helped limit Israel’s strike on Iran, citing regional mediation and renewed U.S. push for a diplomatic agreement with Tehran.
President Donald Trump told Israel’s Channel 12 that he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against allowing an escalation into a wider regional war and that his interventions helped reduce the scale of an Israeli strike on Iran. Trump said he told Netanyahu he risked being isolated if he pressed a full-scale attack and that late-stage U.S. interventions narrowed the operation. The president framed the episode as part of a broader U.S. effort to steer both sides back to diplomacy.
Phone exchanges and the U.S. warning
Trump described a dramatic series of phone calls that he said took place in the hours before the Israeli operation. He told the Israeli leader that an expansive military response could draw the region into open conflict and warned that Israel might face Tehran alone if it did not exercise restraint.
According to the account given in the interview, the White House pressed repeatedly for de-escalation, urging Israeli leaders to consider the wider consequences of a prolonged exchange with Iran. Trump said the message was explicit and that his intervention was driven by fears of an uncontrollable regional conflagration.
How the Israeli strike unfolded and was scaled back
The president said Israeli aircraft were already en route to targets in Iran when U.S. officials moved to limit the attack’s scope. He claimed Washington was notified late and that his administration succeeded in reducing both the number of targets struck and the operation’s overall intensity.
Trump did not provide independent verification or military details but described cutting the “size and reach” of the Israeli action through last-minute diplomatic pressure. He said the reduction prevented what he characterized as a potentially far larger confrontation between Tehran and a coalition of regional actors.
Israeli decision-making and reported communications
The interview and related reports described intense consultations inside Israel as the military operation unfolded. Netanyahu, the account said, entered a closed security deliberation with senior defense and intelligence officials before finalizing his decision to proceed with a scaled strike.
The report added that Netanyahu later informed U.S. officials of his choice to move forward, naming Marco Rubio among those he contacted, according to the narrative provided in the interview. The administration’s version underscores the tight, high-level coordination — and friction — between Jerusalem and Washington during the crisis.
Regional pressure and behind-the-scenes mediation
Trump told Channel 12 that five regional countries played a role in pressing for calm and urged the United States to persuade Israel to stop further strikes. He said these states communicated with Washington and urged restraint to prevent a spiral into broader war.
Those diplomatic interventions, he said, created conditions for de-escalation by signaling to both Israel and Iran that the region wanted a pause. The president credited this multilateral pressure with changing the dynamics on the ground and helping to open a diplomatic channel between the two capitals.
Iran’s pledge and the turning point in talks
According to Trump, Iranian officials contacted U.S. channels the morning of the operation and assured American interlocutors that Tehran would not launch additional strikes against Israel. He said Iran requested U.S. involvement to bring Israeli strikes to a halt, a move that Washington used to press Jerusalem to stand down.
Trump described that assurance as the turning point that allowed him to call Netanyahu and press for an immediate cessation of the attacks. He characterized Iran’s outreach as evidence that Tehran was, in his view, willing to engage in negotiations rather than an extended military confrontation.
U.S. diplomatic push toward a new deal with Tehran
Throughout the interview, Trump framed the episode as consistent with a broader American objective: to pursue a comprehensive diplomatic settlement with Iran. He insisted the administration still seeks an agreement that would protect both regional security and economic interests and said such a pact would be “a good deal” for all parties.
The president presented diplomacy as the preferred long-term alternative to cyclical strikes and counterstrikes, arguing that a negotiated arrangement could stabilize volatile dynamics in the Gulf. He acknowledged, however, that trust between the parties is fragile and that significant bargaining remains ahead.
The account provided in the Channel 12 interview reflects the White House’s version of events and comes amid competing narratives from regional capitals. Independent verification of the finer operational and diplomatic details remains limited, and officials from Israel and Iran have not publicly corroborated every element of the timeline described by Trump.