Senior diplomatic sources have described a recent telephone conversation between former US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “extraordinary and damaging” to Western efforts to maintain a coordinated stance on negotiations with Tehran. The call, which took place late last week, has reportedly left European allies alarmed and scrambling to reaffirm a unified front.
According to officials briefed on the exchange, Trump used the discussion to urge Netanyahu to harden Israel’s public position against the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna, dismissing the Biden administration’s approach as “weak” and “naive”. The former president, who retains significant influence within Republican circles, is said to have described the negotiations as “a disaster” and encouraged the Israeli leader to publicly reject any deal that does not include dismantling Iran’s entire nuclear infrastructure.
Netanyahu, under mounting political pressure at home and facing corruption charges, reportedly listened but offered no firm commitment. However, the mere fact of such an intervention has sent shivers through Western diplomatic channels. European officials, who have worked for months to keep Israel and the Gulf states broadly supportive of the negotiating track, now fear that Israel may harden its stance at a critical juncture.
“This is not helpful,” said a senior European diplomat involved in the talks. “We have been walking a tightrope trying to balance concerns about Iran’s programme with the need for a diplomatic solution. A phone call like this risks unravelling months of careful diplomacy.”
The term “crazy” was used by one US official to describe the content of the call, reflecting the administration’s dismay. The White House has declined to comment on the specifics, but a spokesperson emphasised that “the United States speaks with one voice on foreign policy, and that voice belongs to President Biden”.
Analysts point out that Trump’s intervention plays directly into the hands of hardliners in Tehran who oppose any curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities. By encouraging Israel to take a maximalist position, Trump inadvertently strengthens Iranian arguments that the United States cannot be trusted to uphold any agreement.
“The paradox is that Trump’s efforts to sabotage the talks may actually make a deal less likely, raising the risk of military confrontation,” said Dr. Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Programme at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “This is not just about politics; it is about strategic stability in the Middle East.”
European capitals are now urgently reassessing their strategy. France and Germany have privately urged the Biden administration to make clearer guarantees to Israel that any deal will include robust verification measures. Meanwhile, Britain has stepped up its shuttle diplomacy, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly due in Jerusalem this week for talks with Netanyahu.
For Netanyahu, the Trump call is a double-edged sword. While it bolsters his image as a global statesman dealing directly with former allies, it also pulls him into the centre of a partisan dispute in Washington. Domestically, his coalition partners from the far right have already applauded the intervention, making it harder for him to show flexibility.
The backdrop to all this is the ongoing deadlock in Vienna. Negotiators have made some progress on the scope of sanctions relief and enrichment levels, but key differences remain over the speed of snapback mechanisms and the handling of past military dimensions. A deal is not imminent, but European mediators had been quietly optimistic that a framework was within reach.
Whether that optimism survives the fallout from the Trump-Netanyahu call remains to be seen. One European official summed up the mood: “We are now in a more dangerous place than we were a week ago. This is not a game.”
