US, Iran narrow talks to four key nuclear issues - NYT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his security cabinet that Israel may reach a point where it has to confront Iran without US support, i24NEWS reported on Tuesday.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel could face a situation in which it would have to “deal alone with the Iranians,” without American backing and with the costs that would entail, including shortages of munitions and growing international isolation.

“We do not want to get there, but we know we could get there,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also reportedly warned ministers against the emerging agreement with Iran, saying: “As we see it now, almost any agreement is a bad agreement.”

The i24NEWS report came a day after Axios quoted US President Donald Trump as saying he had warned Netanyahu that Israel could be left to fight Iran alone if its attacks escalated into a full-blown war.

Israeli Air Force planes were on runways making final preparations for a third round of strikes against Iran on Monday morning before the White House intervened, Al-Monitor reported, citing diplomatic sources.

The report said the planned operation was expected to be more significant than two earlier strikes carried out at 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time in Tel Aviv.

Following a call from President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler that Israel could not undermine Trump's efforts to secure a deal with Iran, according to the sources.

"We're on the same page," Netanyahu was quoted as saying. "Let's give him a chance."

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran preferred diplomacy but suggested it could turn to a more forceful response if commitments were broken, in a message apparently directed at the United States.

"We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently," Ghalibaf wrote on X. "Break your commitments, and we'll switch to what we speak best. You ride the horse you saddled!"

US President Donald Trump said Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the United States would respond to the attack.

"I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he added.

The Strait of Hormuz remains highly volatile and safe passage cannot be considered to exist without reliable security assurances, International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said.

"I am increasingly concerned by reports that vessels continue to attempt to transit the Strait of Hormuz without any credible security guarantees, despite well-established risks and the fact that seafarers have already been killed, injured and others detained in recent incidents," Dominguez said in a statement on Tuesday.

"No commercial or operational consideration can justify exposing seafarers to such levels of danger," he added.