‘We’re on the same side on every issue,’ US President Trump declares after phone call with PM Netanyahu

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a “very good” phone call on Tuesday evening, according to officials from both sides.

The talk came against the background of several potentially challenging issues for the close relations between the government, including the Iran nuclear talks, the stalled Gaza hostage negotiations and newly imposed U.S. tariffs on Israel.

“I've just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, relative to numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc. The call went very well – We are on the same side of every issue,” Trump stated after the call.

Thank you, President Trump!
🇮🇱🇺🇸 https://t.co/A1UClnY9DU

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 22, 2025

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump told Netanyahu he will ensure that Iran won’t get nuclear weapons, but that he still wants a deal. “Iran has a choice to make,” Leavitt told reporters.

On the Israeli side, Netanyahu only replied by writing on 𝕏: “Thank you, President Trump!” There was no official Israeli statement about the details of the call.

American news outlets reported that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff in Washington to discuss the continuation of the hostage deal negotiations.

The U.S. has been pushing for a new hostage release deal, but Hamas rejected the latest offer last week and is now insisting on a broad, years-long agreement that would end the war without completely disarming the group – a non-starter for Israel.

The phone call was also the first discussion between Trump and Netanyahu since their White House meeting two weeks ago. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that he opposed an impending strike on the Iranian nuclear program only hours before announcing new talks after their meeting.

Israel has expressed concern over the talks, especially since the Omani mediators said, after the last meeting, that the talks aimed for an agreement including the “full renunciation of nuclear weapons,” but also “the safeguarding of its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”

Over the past several days, the prime minister and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio in Israel. Netanyahu “expressed his appreciation for the deep ties between Israel and the United States,” according to his office, which added that “ways for strengthening them were discussed.”

Sa’ar said that he and Moreno spoke “about the assault by so-called ‘international legal institutions’ on the right to self-defense of the most attacked country in the world – Israel.”

“I thanked him for President Trump’s executive order against the International Criminal Court and for the senator’s support for legislation on the issue,” he added.