PM Benjamin Netanyahu asked Donald Trump to hold off on Iran attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally asked US President Donald Trump to hold off on a US military attack on Iran, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing an anonymous senior US official. 

The two leaders reportedly held a call on Wednesday. The White House confirmed that a call took place after The Jerusalem Post asked for comment. However, the White House did not confirm the contents of the call.

Notably, that same day, Trump claimed that he had received information from “very important sources on the other side,” that Iran had stopped killing dissidents.

“We were told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and there’s no plan for executions,” he said during a press conference in the Oval Office. “There’s no plan for executions or an execution. I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, I’ll be very upset.”

On Thursday, the White House claimed that 800 executions were halted in Iran, adding that Trump continues to closely monitor the situation.

“We saved a lot of lives yesterday,” Trump said in a phone call with NBC News on Thursday.

The New York Times report came after the US appeared to shift towards diplomatic means of pressure to stop the Iranian crackdown on anti-regime protesters. 

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to The New York Times’ request for comment. 

On Wednesday, some US personnel and aircraft were evacuated from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Qatar’s International Media Office confirmed.

The evacuation and a raised security warning level were called over fears the Islamic Republic of Iran would target US bases in Gulf states in retaliation if the US were to strike.

On Thursday, the security warning was lowered, allowing some personnel and aircraft to return, Reuters reported, citing sources briefed on the situation.

Reuters contributed to this report.