ఇరాన్ అణు కార్యక్రమంపై ‘నిరంతర నిఘా’ ఉండాలని ట్రంప్‌ను నెతన్యాహు కోరారు

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to press President Donald Trump in their meeting Tuesday to keep a “constant, constant watch” on Iran’s nuclear program, even as he said he has no new evidence that Tehran’s ability to build a weapon has been destroyed.

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“Our intel services and yours are working so close together that it’s not that I’m going to present new information, but I think it’s a good thing to have the opportunity to sit with our good friend President Trump and to hear what he has in mind, because I think in many ways it’s his decision,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.

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Trump and the U.S. military have remained largely quiet over the weekend about the pause on nearly two weeks of escalating strikes against Iran, with UN Ambassador Mike Waltz saying on NBC that Trump was giving space for negotiations to proceed.

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The Islamic Republic held talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint that has been a central point of contention since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks in late February. Iran’s army on Sunday said it too had halted its retaliatory attacks.

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Netanyahu said the U.S. and Israel had set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities “a good few years” but cautioned that Tehran could still try to reconstruct what has been destroyed.

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“Yes, we pushed it back, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have the attempt to restore it,” Netanyahu said. “And we have to be on the constant, constant watch so it doesn’t happen.”

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Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated with Iran for refusing to reopen Hormuz, said Friday the U.S. is “locked and loaded” for major strikes on Iran but suggested that he would wait for diplomatic talks to play out.

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The U.S. president has consistently said “he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. It would be “wise for Iran to work toward a negotiated deal,” he said.

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