After battling Iran’s allies across the region following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Netanyahu has turned his attention to what he describes as the “head of the octopus,” with an unprecedented and open-ended military offensive against Iran and its nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the possibility of strikes in a phone conversation with President Trump, according to two U.S. officials. Trump responded that he would like to see diplomacy run its course before turning to military options.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said for three decades that the central threat to Israel’s existence is Iran’s nuclear program. At least twice over that period, he came within inches of carrying out an attack on it.