US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, saying that Tehran previously chose not to reach a deal and was then struck by ‘Midnight Hammer’, and added that he hoped Iran would act in a more reasonable and responsible way this time.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders discussed talks with Iran, as well as the situation in Gaza and other regional developments. It said they “agreed to continue their close coordination and relationship.”
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Trump said he told Netanyahu that he planned to move forward with negotiations with Iran. He also said he would prefer reaching an agreement with the Islamic Republic despite concerns raised by the visiting leader, describing their interaction as a “very good meeting”.
Trump’s ‘Midnight Hammer’ warning to Iran
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he pushed Netanyahu to allow negotiations with Iran to continue to determine whether a deal could be finalised. He added that he hoped Iran would agree this time, recalling that during the previous instance, they were “hit with Midnight Hammer”.
Notably, ‘Midnight Hammer’ is the term for the American military operation in Iran, when three facilities in the country were attacked on June 21 last year.
“I have just finished meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, of Israel, and various of his Representatives. It was a very good meeting, the tremendous relationship between our two Countries continues. There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” he wrote in the post.
He added, “If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be. Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible. Additionally, we discussed the tremendous progress being made in Gaza, and the Region in general. There is truly PEACE in the Middle East. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump-Netanyahu meeting
Wednesday’s meeting was their seventh during Trump’s second term. It came at a time when both the United States and Iran have shown optimism after indirect talks held in Oman on Friday on how to approach negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme once again.
Trump has earlier indicated the possibility of US military action against Iran following Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters. Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran resumed talks last week through a meeting in Oman.
In his post, Trump also said he and Netanyahu had “also discussed the tremendous progress being made in Gaza, and the Region in general.”
With inputs from agencies
