Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu is being “sidelined” by US President Donald Trump regarding Iran, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Citing two unnamed Israeli defense officials, the NYT said that Israel is “almost entirely out of the loop” in talks between the United States and Iran.
According to the officials, Israel has been forced to use other roundabout avenues to seek information on the peace talks, including other diplomatic connections and intelligence sources within Iran.
The report comes after an Axios report on Wednesday cited a US source as saying Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after a phone call with Trump on the subject of the Iran talks.
According to Axios, Trump called Netanyahu on Tuesday to discuss a “letter of intent” being drafted by mediators to end the war and launch a month-long negotiation period.
The negotiations would cover matters such as Iran’s nuclear program and opening the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
Axios cited two Israeli sources as saying that there was clear disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu on how to deal with Iran moving forward.
Trump: Netanyahu ‘a very good man’
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Netanyahu will “do whatever I want him to do,” adding that the Israeli prime minister is “a very good man.”
Trump further told reporters that US-Iran negotiations are “right on the borderline” between war and peace.
“If we don’t get the right answer, it could happen very quickly,” said Trump. “We have not got the right answer. It will have to be 100% good answers.”
Trump added that he would give Iran “a few days” for talks.
Corine Baum and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
