Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to cast his ballot at his party Likud's main polling station during primary elections ahead of Israel's general election in October in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026. [AFP]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a diplomatic deal was not possible with the "savages" who rule Iran as he hailed US President Donald Trump's new campaign of economic pressure.
Recounting a recent meeting with Trump, Netanyahu said they had discussed the possibility of diplomacy with the Islamic republic and added: "I doubt, however, that an agreement can be reached with that group there, with those savages.
"I tell you -- an agreement cannot be reached," Netanyahu said late Tuesday at an event in Jerusalem for Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu has long been sceptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then US president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticise Trump who has also sought a negotiated settlement.
Trump joined Netanyahu in a US-Israeli joint attack on Iran in late February but agreed to a ceasefire in April in the face of widespread US public opposition to the war, which had sent oil prices spiralling.
Trump on Monday declared "economic D-Day" aimed at destroying Iran's economy, which has already endured years of sanctions, but he has shown reluctance to resume a full-scale war even as he grows frustrated that Tehran will not accept his demands.