Trump says Netanyahu will follow his lead on Iran: Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would “do whatever I want him to do” on Iran, while praising him as a “great guy” who is “not treated well in Israel”. “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do (on Iran), he is a great guy who is not treated well in Israel,” he said. Trump and Netanyahu, according to US media reports, held a tense phone call over the future of the Iran conflict, as Washington explored diplomatic options instead of the resumption of strikes. Following the telephonic conversation, Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire”, US media outlet Axios reported, as the Israeli prime minister wanted to resume the strikes to degrade the Islamic regime’s military capabilities.

Tehran says surrender to US ‘an illusion’, diplomacy ‘wiser’ than war: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that “all paths” to pursue a diplomatic solution to the ongoing war “remain open” from their side, but “forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion”, Al Jazeera reported. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said exchanges of messages with the Trump administration are continuing based on Tehran’s 14-point proposal. Baghei also said that the United States must prove its goodwill by ending what Tehran describes as piracy against Iranian ships.

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