Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after tense Trump call on Iran deal

By isabelle // 2026-05-21

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Trump delayed a planned strike on Iran after a tense hour-long call with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu pushed for resumed military action but Trump chose to pursue diplomacy through a new Qatari-Pakistani proposal.
Iran is reviewing the proposal while demanding the U.S. end ship seizures and unfreeze funds.
Trump said the U.S. and Iran are on the borderline between a deal and war, with no final answer yet.
The rift between Trump and Netanyahu highlights a clear choice between negotiated settlement and military escalation.

The phone call lasted nearly an hour, but by the time it ended, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was approaching a boiling point rarely seen between two allied leaders. On Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump told Netanyahu he was delaying a massive planned strike on Iran to pursue diplomacy. The response inside the prime minister's office? According to one U.S. source briefed on the conversation, Netanyahu's "hair was on fire." The question now is whether Trump will stick with diplomacy or give in to the war lobby demanding renewed military action. For voters who elected Trump on a promise to stop endless wars, the stakes could not be higher.

A dramatic divide over Iran strategy

The disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu represents a significant rift between the United States and Israel over how to handle the Iran conflict. Axios reported Wednesday that Trump informed Netanyahu about a new "letter of intent" being drafted by Qatar and Pakistan that would formally end the war and launch a 30-day negotiation period over Iran's nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to a U.S. official who spoke to CNN, Trump had initially told Netanyahu on Sunday that he was likely to move forward with new targeted attacks on Iran early this week, an operation expected to be named "Operation Sledgehammer." However, Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked Trump to give diplomacy more time. Trump announced he was halting those strikes, saying "we're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens."

Netanyahu wants war, Trump wants a deal

Behind the scenes, the tensions run deep. Axios reported that Netanyahu is "highly skeptical" about negotiations and may seek to prolong the war to further compromise Iran's military and weaken its regime by destroying key infrastructure. An Israeli source told CNN that Netanyahu pushed for a resumption of military action during the Tuesday call. One Israeli official described the divergence clearly: Trump wants to see if a deal can be reached, but Netanyahu was expecting something else. Trump has taken a different approach, telling reporters Wednesday that "the only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Let's see what happens." He also claimed that Netanyahu "will do whatever I want him to do" on Iran.

Iran reviews updated proposal

Iran has confirmed it is reviewing an updated proposal, but no final agreement has been reached. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said conditions for success include the U.S. ending what Iran calls "piracy" against Iranian ships and agreeing to release frozen funds, while Israel must end its war in Lebanon. President Masoud Pezeshkian stated this week that "dialogue does not mean surrender," adding that Iran will not retreat from "the legal rights of the people and the country." Qatar has been working to bridge the gaps. A Qatari diplomat said that "Qatar has been and continues to support the Pakistani-led mediation efforts" and has "been consistently advocating for de-escalation for the sake of the region and its people."

Trump holds the line

Trump told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. and Iran are "right on the borderline" between getting a deal and resuming the war. "If we don't get the right answer, it could happen very quickly. We have not got the right answer. It will have to be 100% good answers," he said. But Trump also emphasized that giving diplomacy a chance was worth it: "If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do." An Israeli source said Netanyahu wants to come to Washington in the coming weeks for a meeting with Trump. Whether that meeting will focus on peace or war remains uncertain. The choice before Trump is clear. Pursue a negotiated settlement that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, or surrender to the war lobby and risk a conflict with no clear exit strategy. Military strikes would delay Iran's nuclear program but guarantee retaliation against U.S. forces and allies in the region. For conservative voters who supported Trump's promise to end foreign entanglements, the coming days will reveal whether that promise holds. Sources for this article include: RT.com Axios.com JPost.com CNN.com