Trump and Netanyahu clash over timing of Iran strike

U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Israel Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Oct. 31 to discuss whether, and when, combat operations against Iran should be escalated. Axios, citing a U.S. official and an Israeli official, reported that the call was tense and direct. According to the report, Netanyahu pressed for strikes on Iran to be carried out immediately after the U.S. midterm election, while Trump wanted to let the negotiating track with Tehran continue. In the midst of an eight-month war, Washington was said to be pursuing two approaches at once: military strikes and efforts to reach an agreement that could fully open the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas traffic. A day earlier, Mohsen Rezaei said he had received a letter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance urging a revival of talks that had stalled.