Trump Calls Netanyahu As He Weighs Renewed Bombing of Iran

President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday as Washington weighed restarting major combat operations against Iran, days after a White House review of military options.

The contact came as U.S. officials considered another bombing campaign while maintaining negotiations with Tehran, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Trump had yet to decide on further military action and preferred a diplomatic outcome.

Possible Strikes After the Midterms

Trump’s discussions with senior commanders included a briefing from Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.

The U.S. has not attacked Iran since September 1. Trump has indicated that further strikes would wait until after the November 3 midterm elections.

Reports from the Journal and MSNOW, the latter citing senior Gulf Arab officials, said Washington had advised Gulf allies to prepare for possible attacks as early as November 4.

The contemplated operation could involve a brief, concentrated campaign.

The planning coincides with Trump’s final effort to mobilize Republican voters. The war’s contribution to higher fuel prices has weighed on enthusiasm for the party.

Remaining Targets

Speaking to reporters in Palm Beach later Saturday, Trump identified Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear facility near Natanz, among the remaining targets.

“We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” he said.

Trump said a plan was available for rapid execution, while also saying the U.S. was “not in that much of a hurry.”

He claimed previous attacks had disabled Iran’s navy, air force and air defenses. Those assertions accompanied his insistence that Tehran would never obtain a nuclear weapon.

Pickaxe Mountain is a deeply buried tunnel complex that Western intelligence has identified as a possible location for nuclear material storage or centrifuge-related activity.

Assessments of its operational status differ, and experts have questioned whether bunker-buster bombs alone could fully destroy it.

Diplomacy and Retaliation Warnings

Rubio, speaking in Atlanta after G20 foreign ministers’ meetings, said negotiations with Iran “have actually never stopped.”

He declined to discuss military plans.

Any agreement would need to address Washington’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and its support for regional armed groups.

Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha on Saturday. Vice President JD Vance also sent Iranian officials a letter outlining a negotiating framework.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed that outreach, but Tehran has continued to warn of retaliation against U.S. and Israeli targets if attacks resume.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered Iran’s armed forces to prepare an immediate response without geographic limits.

Netanyahu has advocated renewed strikes.

His call with Trump came as Israel faced prolonged coalition negotiations after his bloc secured 53 parliamentary seats, leaving him serving as caretaker prime minister.