JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he spoke with Donald Trump, saying that the US president believed US-Israeli military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protects Israel's interests.
"President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to realise the war's objectives in an agreement -- an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"We will protect our vital interests under any circumstances," he said, adding: "At the same time, we continue to strike both in Iran and in Lebanon."
Netanyahu reiterated that the ongoing strikes were "crushing the missile programme and the nuclear programme" of Iran and also "inflicting heavy damage on Hezbollah".
"Just a few days ago we eliminated two more (Iranian) nuclear scientists, and this is not the end," he said.
Netanyahu's comments came shortly after Trump announced "very good" talks with an unnamed Iranian official.
Trump's sudden turn to diplomacy came just hours ahead of his now-postponed Monday night ultimatum for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane -- or else see the US military "obliterate" its power plants.
The Axios news outlet, citing an unnamed Israeli official, named Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's speaker of parliament, who is one of the most prominent non-clerical figures in Tehran.
But Ghalibaf said "no negotiations" were underway in a post on X.