On the eve of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump tells an Israeli reporter that the Israeli premier “wants a deal” with Iran, and says nuclear talks this time show promise.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it,” Trump tells Barak Ravid, a reporter with both Israel’s Channel 12 and the Axios news site, about the American strikes in June 2025 on Iran’s nuclear sites just days after the collapse of diplomatic negotiations.
“They overplayed their hand,” says Trump. This time around, the negotiations are “very different,” he adds. “We can make a great deal with Iran.”
The US president avers that Netanyahu is not against the current US-Iran talks, which included a high-level meeting over the weekend in Oman: “He also wants a deal. He wants a good deal.”
Iran, Trump says, also “wants to make a deal very badly.”
But Trump tells Ravid that the US isn’t afraid to play tough: “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time.”
The US president says that “we have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” adding that he is “thinking” of sending another aircraft carrier strike group, after boosting the US military presence in the region in recent weeks.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this