Waltz’s coordination with Netanyahu on Iran strike contributed to his firing – report
Washington Post quotes US officials saying that ousted security adviser pushed policy ‘in direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with’; PM’s office denies they had ‘intensive contact’
US President Donald Trump was angered by his recently ousted national security adviser Mike Waltz’s hawkish position on Iran and coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on military options to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program, contributing to his dismissal last week, according to a Saturday report.
Citing senior officials and Trump advisers, the Washington Post reported that Trump’s frustration with Waltz grew over time ahead of his firing.
According to the report, Trump’s displeasure with Waltz came even before the “Signalgate” affair, in which he was blamed for accidentally adding the editor of The Atlantic to a group chat on the Signal messaging app describing details of an imminent US bombing campaign in Yemen.
The report said he clashed with White House officials “since early in the administration,” specifically over his preference for using military force against Iran instead of the diplomatic route that Trump favored.
Last week, Trump dismissed Waltz as national security advisor and announced his nomination as the next US ambassador to the United Nations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was named as his interim replacement.
Two of the people quoted by the Washington Post said that Waltz upset the US president by engaging in what the report described as “intense coordination” with Netanyahu on possible military options for Iran, prior to the premier’s White House meeting with Trump in February.
Waltz “wanted to take US policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the US hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution,” one of the sources said.
“It got back to Trump and the president wasn’t happy with it,” the person continued.
“If Jim Baker was doing a side deal with the Saudis to subvert George H.W. Bush, you’d be fired,” the report added, quoting a senior advisor to Trump who was referring to the former secretary of state and White House chief of staff.
“You can’t do that. You work for the president of your country, not a president of another country,” the advisor said.
The Washington Post said Waltz’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the matter, nor did White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who the report said felt that Waltz was not a good match for Trump.
Wiles and Waltz notably were on opposing sides in a bombshell report last month in The New York Times on how Trump “waved off” a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program that would require US military support.
After the Washington Post report was published, Netanyahu’s office denied it, saying that the premier “did not have intensive contact with Mike Waltz on Iran.”
“PM Netanyahu had a warm meeting with Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff at Blair House in February prior to the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Trump at the White House,” the PMO said in a post on X.
“Mike Waltz also joined VP JD Vance in a meeting with the PM before leaving Washington. Since then, the PM, the former National Security Advisor and Steve Witkoff had one phone conversation that did not deal with Iran,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding: “We congratulate Mr. Waltz on his important appointment to the UN.”
The statement did not mention whether other Israeli officials have since spoken with Waltz, among them Netanyahu’s top confidant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who met with the then-national security adviser during his trip to the US in March.
At the time, the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the intended content of Dermer’s meetings with Waltz and other US officials.
According to the Times report last month, Waltz was among a number of senior White House officials who pushed for the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities before Trump shut it down.
Also among the senior cabinet officials pushing for military action was Rubio, who was tapped to replace Waltz.
Since Trump took office in January, his administration has pushed for a diplomatic approach to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, leading to a series of direct and indirect talks with Iranian officials, the highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from a landmark deal with Tehran in 2018, during Trump’s first term.
According to a report published Friday, the new deal being negotiated is largely similar to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated under Barak Obama’s administration and was scrapped by Trump in 2018 during his first term, eight sources said.
The report said that the Trump administration is looking to ensure that Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, not completely dismantle all aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.
The United States and other Western countries have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons — a claim Tehran denies, insisting that its atomic program is solely for civilian purposes.
Under the terms being discussed, the report said, Iran would limit stockpile size and centrifuge types, and dilute, export or seal its 60 percent uranium stock under unprecedented International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scrutiny, all in exchange for substantial sanctions relief.
This approach has not aligned with Netanyahu’s longtime position, which is that Israel will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons and is opposed to any talks that don’t lead Iran to agree to a “a Libya-style agreement,” under which Tehran’s entire nuclear program, both military and civilian, would be dismantled completely.
Israel is reportedly deeply concerned that the US is closing in on a “bad deal” with Iran that will not meet Jerusalem’s stated essential conditions, that Israel believes the negotiations are “very, very advanced,” and that the US is not sharing enough information with Israel on key specific issues.
A fourth round of talks between the US and Iran initially scheduled for Saturday was postponed, mediator Oman said earlier this week, citing “logistical reasons.” A new date would be set “depending on the US approach,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday.
The US said that the weekend meeting had never been confirmed, but that it expected the talks to take place soon.
Agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.