Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday evening that any deal to end the hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran would protect Jerusalem’s “vital interests,” in his first comments since US President Donald Trump announced earlier in the day that he was holding talks with Tehran about ending the war.

In an upbeat video statement, Netanyahu said he spoke with “our friend” Trump in a phone call on Monday, and that the two discussed the president’s desire to end the fighting with Iran through a deal.

Trump, Netanyahu said, “believes that there is a chance to leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to achieve the goals of the war through an agreement — an agreement that protects our vital interests.”

At the same time, the premier stressed that Israel was “continuing to strike” in both Iran and Lebanon, where the IDF is in the midst of renewed fighting with Hezbollah, after it waded into the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

“We are crushing the missile program and the nuclear program, and continuing to strike Hezbollah hard,” Netanyahu said. “Only days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists, and our arm is still outstretched.”

Trump, earlier on Monday, announced that his administration was engaged in talks with Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.

He claimed that the sides were close to an agreement under which there would be a total cessation of the hostilities that have wracked the region since February 28, and which would also include Iranian guarantees to refrain from seeking nuclear weapons and to give up on uranium enrichment.

Iran, for its part, denied that the talks were taking place, with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf accusing Trump of attempting to “manipulate the financial and oil markets” by claiming the end of the war was in sight.

According to Channel 12 on Monday evening, Netanyahu received regular updates over the preceding 24 hours regarding the ongoing contacts between Washington and Tehran, and, despite Iran’s denial, Israeli officials........

© The Times of Israel