Trump Rebukes Netanyahu Over Iranian Nuclear Program Reports

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about reports of the Israeli leader planning to share intelligence regarding Iran rebuilding its nuclear program. During an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump pushed back on Netanyahu ahead of a meeting with the Israeli leader at the White House, underlining a strain in the relationship as the US President downplayed pressure to escalate conflict with Iran. FOX: “There are reports that Netanyahu is gonna talk to you about ongoing excavation at Pickaxe Mountain, construction vehicles paving new access roads, fortifications” TRUMP: “Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved”… — Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 28, 2026 When asked by a Fox News journalist about reports of Netanyahu’s plan to share intelligence related to Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, Trump said, “I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.” Trump said the United States military is closely tracking Iran’s nuclear program and reiterated his threat to strike Pickaxe Mountain, Tehran’s nuclear site that lies at least 100 metres beneath the rocks near the damaged Natanz nuclear enrichment complex. Trump said on Tuesday that America would probably strike the area “pretty soon” and “very heavily.” “I heard Bibi announce that. I said, ‘Why didn’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?” the president said hours before his meeting with the Israeli prime minister in the Oval Office. Talking about Pickaxe Mountain, Trump said that he knows exactly “what is going on at Pickaxe” and declared it as “not a big problem,” Fox News reported. Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump comes days after the US military halted strikes on Iran and the Trump administration said that it is negotiating with the Iranian counterparts to strike a deal. Trump has previously said that he would escalate military combat if negotiations with Iran fail. The US and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran on February 28, and the hostilities in West Asia have continued for the past five months.