Iran live updates: Trump criticizes Netanyahu over Israeli intel on Pickaxe Mountain
ABC News · LC · trust 42/100
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.
Netanyahu arrives at White House Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House for a closed-door Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Trump blasted the Israeli prime minister during an interview on "Fox and Friends," where he insinuated that reports of Israeli intelligence sharing were a ploy to try and keep the U.S. engaged in the conflict.
“Well, I don't need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump said, responding to questions about reports that Netanyahu would share information on alleged Iranian attempts to build back its nuclear capabilities.
Netanyahu to present Trump with new intelligence on Iran's military capabilities Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present President Donald Trump with new Israeli intelligence on Iran's efforts to rebuild it's military capabilities during their White House meeting Tuesday, sources tell ABC News.
The two are scheduled to meet behind closed doors without a press conference scheduled, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. This marks the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the joint operation against Iran began in late February.
Vice President JD Vance will also be a part of the meeting, an Israeli official confirmed to ABC News.
Trump criticizes Netanyahu over Israeli Pickaxe Mountain intel President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning reiterated his threats to strike Iran's critical infrastructure and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone interview with Fox and Friends.
Trump is set to meet with Netanyahu in the Oval Office at 11 a.m. ET. The president criticized Netanyahu over media reports suggesting Netanyahu planned to discuss Israeli intelligence about potential Iranian excavation at Pickaxe Mountain, which lies one mile south of the Natanz nuclear enrichment complex near Isfahan.
"Well, I don't need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved," Trump said.
"I heard Bibi announced that. I said, why don't you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world? I know exactly what's going on at Pickaxe. It's not a big problem. We took out their nuclear sites and we'll have to take out Pickaxe if we don't make a deal," Trump added.
The president also again said that the U.S. and Iran were still talking -- something the Iranians have dismissed. But the president refused to address questions about who exactly the administration was speaking to in Iran.
"For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion and they'll come out and say, we're not talking or we didn't discuss nuclear. Well, that's all we discussed, because they'll never have a nuclear weapon," he said.
The president again floated strikes on Iran's power plants, bridges and desalination plants -- a threat he has previously walked back.
"I would say in two hours. Most of the bridges, the major bridges will all be gone. And the power plants in one day. And, you know, if I can avoid doing that, I'd like to do that," Trump said, giving a timeline for how long he said it would take for the U.S. to accomplish such an objective.
"And then there's always the desalinization plants. And who am I hurting there? I'm hurting the people. So I'm not looking to do that," he added.
Trump also acknowledged "a lot of competing factions" within the GOP on Iran. He said, "I have many Republicans that want me to keep going," while another group "says, this is actually a good time to make a deal for them," he added.
Trump later dismissed the war as a "little situation" and sought to assuage fears over the economic impact of the war. "This is going to be better soon as this little situation gets worked out. I believe it's going to be better. It already is better," he said.
IDF intercepts drone along border with Jordan The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday morning that the Israeli Air Force intercepted “an unmanned aircraft that was identified at the Jordan border.”
“The aircraft did not cross into the country's territory; the launch origin is under investigation,” the IDF said in a post to X.
President Donald Trump announced \"major combat operations\" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.
Read the original at ABC News →
Open in TruthVane →