WASHINGTON ( WNAM MONITORING): US President Donald Trump publicly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, hours before the two leaders were scheduled to meet at the White House.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump said Netanyahu should have discussed concerns over Iran’s underground Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility with him privately instead of raising the issue publicly.
“I heard Bibi (Netanyahu) announce that. I said, ‘Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?'” the US president said.
Trump suggested Netanyahu was emphasizing the site because he wanted to persuade Washington to remain involved in the conflict with Iran.
“No, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump said, adding that the US was fully aware of developments at the facility and knows “exactly what’s going on.”
He noted that while his military has already “destroyed most” of the country’s military infrastructure, the Pickaxe site remains a target. “We’ll have to take out Pickaxe if we don’t make a deal … we’ll take it out very easily.”
Responding to criticism from Israel over potential military sales to Ankara, Trump defended Türkiye as an important US ally on Monday, described President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a friend, and said no one would dictate what military equipment the US could sell.
Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet later Tuesday at the White House, with Iran, Gaza and broader regional security expected to dominate the agenda.
Ultimatum on Iranian infrastructure
The US president issued a stark warning regarding Iran’s civilian infrastructure, asserting he could “finish the job” by destroying all major bridges in hours. “It takes them 10 years to build a bridge,” Trump noted. He further claimed he has the capability to “knock out the power plants within one day,” which he estimated would leave 91 million people without electricity.
However, Trump expressed reluctance to target water desalination plants. “Who am I hurting there? I’m hurting the people. So I’m not looking to do that,” he added.
Status of negotiations
Despite the threats, Trump revealed on Tuesday that Washington is currently holding “some very good talks” with Tehran. “I just want very simply, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, and they’ve agreed to that… we have to get them to, you know, make it formal,” he said.
The US president dismissed public denials from Iranian officials regarding the nature of the discussions. “For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they’ll come out and say we’re not talking or we didn’t discuss nuclear,” Trump said.
