Report: Trump Told Netanyahu to "Go Ahead and Get Ready" on Iran
Unnamed US officials described talks about possible joint attacks on Iranian nuclear and military sites. A White House official denied that the leaders discussed resuming the war.
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Oct 13, 22:00 UTC ·
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Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump discussed possible renewed strikes on Iran before elections in both countries, according to a disputed report that puts military action back on the agenda. [1]
The Jerusalem Post reported on October 13 that an Axios account, citing senior US officials, described a conversation the previous week about renewing military action before Israel's election. Netanyahu reportedly pointed to alleged Iranian efforts to rebuild nuclear capacity as a reason to strike. Possible targets included nuclear and military sites. [1]
A White House official denied that the leaders had discussed resuming the war and said Trump had stated that the United States would not attack Iran before the US midterm elections. Netanyahu's office confirmed that he maintains regular contact with Trump but did not address the reported conversation. [1]
One US official quoted in the Axios account said Trump told Netanyahu to "go ahead and get ready," while making no firm commitment to restart military operations. That would leave Israel with encouragement to prepare, but without a promise of American participation. [1]
The reported discussion and military preparations have not been independently confirmed. The account provides no public evidence of Iran's alleged nuclear rebuilding and does not establish that either leader's electoral prospects drove the talks. [1]
Told to get ready, but no commitment
The account describes a proposal still being argued over, rather than an announced operation. An Israeli official said Trump initially appeared willing to join renewed strikes but later grew hesitant. Another US official said he remained undecided, according to The Jerusalem Post's account of the reporting. [1]
That sequence helps explain why the reported instruction to prepare matters. Military planning can move ahead while a president weighs whether to participate. If the account is accurate, the two leaders had reached a stage at which preparations could advance even though the central political decision was unsettled.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli military and US Central Command were on alert and finalizing preparations, according to sources. Central Command is the US military command responsible for operations in the Middle East. The account attributed those preparations to sources, rather than reporting confirmed operational orders. [1]
The risk in the reported talks lies in that overlap between planning and indecision. If forces are preparing while leaders debate, the practical distance between a proposal and an operation can narrow. A president need not have settled every argument inside his administration for preparations to make an option easier to execute.
Netanyahu's reported rationale puts Iran's nuclear capacity at the centre of the proposal. But the account does not specify what he alleged Iran had rebuilt. That leaves the public without a concrete description of the activity he reportedly cited to justify another attack. [1]
Azernews, relaying Axios correspondent Barak Ravid's account, also reported Netanyahu as saying security threats were increasing and Israel was preparing for "any scenario." That broad statement describes readiness without identifying a particular operation or a decision to launch one. [2]
Two approaches inside Washington
The reported divisions extend beyond Trump's own position. Sources familiar with the discussions described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Central Command's leadership as strong supporters of resuming the war. Much of the administration instead favored continuing economic and political pressure, according to the same account. [1]
A US official described the argument for staying with that approach: "They claim this economic choking is working better and better. Let's keep it up." [1]
The two camps want different next steps, with Trump still weighing the military option.
Hegseth's reported support matters because he leads the Defense Department. Central Command's reported support matters because the command would be central to US military operations in the region. Their views would carry operational weight, though the account places the decision with Trump. [1]
The White House denial directly contests the central claim that the leaders discussed resuming the war. Netanyahu's office offered a narrower response, confirming contact without discussing its contents. Neither response supplies an agreed public account of what the two leaders said. [1]
The election clock and Trump's next move
Israel's legislative election is scheduled for October 27, according to the report. The US midterm elections follow in early November. The reported conversation therefore concerns a military option on a short political timetable, with voting approaching in both countries. [1]
That timing gives Trump's position particular importance. The White House official's account places a limit on US action before the midterms. The unnamed officials' account describes a president who encouraged preparations but had yet to commit. Readers are being presented with competing accounts of his position, not a declared deadline for an attack. [1]
Trump added a public signal on October 13, telling reporters that the United States would decide its next move on Iran "very soon." He described Iran as a "failed country" and alleged that it had 300% inflation and was not paying its troops. Those were Trump's assertions about Iran, rather than independently established economic findings in the report. [1]
His next public explanation will need to identify the decision behind that phrase. For now, the only announced timing is his own: "very soon." [1]
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