Netanyahu urged Trump to not attack Iran

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged United States President Donald Trump to delay any American military strike on Iran, according to a report by The New York Times - a development which underscores growing regional unease over the risk of a wider conflict.

Netanyahu spoke to President Trump on Thursday, the same day the US president publicly suggested that Tehran had eased its internal crackdown and halted executions, citing information from “very important sources on the other side”, remarks that were widely read in Washington as a signal of hesitation about imminent military action, the report said.

The intervention by the Israeli leader comes as several key Arab partners of the US have also pressed the Trump administration to avoid an attack on Iran, warning such a move might trigger a broader regional war, according to a senior official from a Gulf Arab country cited by the newspaper.

Qatari, Saudi, Omani, and Egyptian officials have called their senior US counterparts in the last two days and expressed their fear that a US strike may destabilize the region, disrupt energy flows, and provoke Iranian retaliation beyond US targets, the official told NYT.

Meanwhile, the four Arab states have been urging Iranian officials to refrain from attacking regional countries should the United States decide to strike Iran, reflecting a coordinated effort to contain escalation on both sides, the Gulf official said.