Netanyahu asks White House if secret Iran talks are happening
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House in April 2025. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the White House for clarifications earlier this week after learning Trump administration officials might be communicating with the Iranian regime, two sources with knowledge of the issue said.
Why it matters: Netanyahu's outreach suggests that the Israeli government is concerned about a scenario in which the U.S. pursues a ceasefire before all of Israel's war objectives have been achieved.
Behind the scenes: The sources said Israeli intelligence obtained information earlier this week that raised suspicions some kind of communications had taken place between Iran and the Trump administration to discuss a ceasefire.
- On Monday Netanyahu called White House officials and asked if such talks or exchange of messages happened.
- "The White House told Bibi that the Trump administration wasn't talking to the Iranians behind his back," one source said.
Zoom in: A U.S. official said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner talk almost every day to Netanyahu, to the director of Mossad David Barnea, and to other Israeli officials — and that regardless of ups and downs in the past, the coordination over the last month was very close.
- "They know we are not talking to the Iranians," the U.S. official said.
- The Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
Between the lines: A U.S. official and another source with knowledge said the Iranians sent messages to the Trump administration over the last few days, through countries in the Gulf and other countries in the region, but the U.S. didn't respond.
- "We treated these messages as bull****," the U.S. official told Axios.
- The New York Times reported on Wednesday that operatives from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence reached out indirectly to the CIA through a third country's spy agency with an offer to discuss terms for ending the conflict.
What they are saying: "Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner haven't had any conversation with Ali Larijani, Abbas Araghchi or anyone else in the Iranian regime since the war started," a U.S. official said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
- President Trump also ruled out any talks with the Iranian regime in comments Tuesday.
- "Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said 'Too Late!'" he wrote on Truth Social.
