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Sunday, January 18, 2026
Report: When he asked Trump not to strike Iran, Netanyahu said Israel not fully ready to defend itself
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleWhen he lobbied US President Donald Trump not to strike Iran last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reasoned that Israel is not fully prepared to defend against Tehran’s retaliation, The Washington Post reports, citing an unnamed source close to the White House.
An American official reportedly says a key factor was the absence of a significant US military presence in the region, which Jerusalem relied on to help intercept Iran’s ballistic missiles during the 12-day war in June.
The report also says Trump’s top advisers had at one point around Wednesday last week believed a strike was imminent, before a text message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Trump’s Mideast Adviser Steve Witkoff “kind of also defused the situation.”
The Times of Israel Community.