Trump to speak to Netanyahu today: Gaza ceasefire, Iran talks high on agenda

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Netanyahu departs the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025.

US President Donald Trump will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, reported AFP quoting a White House official. The call comes as Iran finalises its response to a US proposal on a potential nuclear deal, while the White House continues to push for progress on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

Trump, who was at his Camp David retreat with top officials including military generals, has said he warned Netanyahu off striking Iran when they last spoke on May 22.

Last week too, Trump said he had warned Netanyahu not to take actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran.

"I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution now," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "That could change at any moment."

Earlier in the day, Iran said it will soon present a counter-proposal on a nuclear deal with the United States, after it had described Washington's offer as containing "ambiguities".

Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington describing it as a "red line".

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later saying the text contained "ambiguities".

Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said Tehran will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear activities among other topics.

"I call upon Iran urgently to cooperate fully and effectively with the International Atomic Energy Agency," said agency chief Rafael Grossi in his opening speech.

"Unless and until Iran assists the agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," he added.

Earlier, the agency released a report criticising "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.

Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch foe Israel.

Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries that are party to the 2015 deal, are currently weighing whether to trigger the sanctions "snapback" mechanism in the accord.

The mechanism would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance -- an option that expires in October.