Netanyahu and Trump discussed eliminating Iran's regime in Monday call

The call came as Iran's currency collapses and tankers remain stalled in the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump spoke on Monday about the importance of eliminating the Iranian regime.

The conversation took place as economic and military pressure on Iran builds. Treasury Secretary Bessent says Iran's currency is collapsing and that panic is setting in, as strikes continue and a partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz persists.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said the strait could reopen within six days if the United States meets Tehran's conditions, though he has also said US "excessive demands" are hindering negotiations. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman has said Iran could widen the blockade to the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Suez Canal, and that Hormuz is not yet fully closed, even as mines, fires and a reported tanker sinking have kept traffic depressed. Iran's navy has said US forces struck its Konark naval base; Washington has not confirmed the claim, and Iran has said it has no choice but to assert control over Hormuz.

The call pushes against Trump's standing pledge to avoid military action against Iran before the November 3 midterms, a commitment that had been narrowing the risk of near-term escalation. Netanyahu raising the elimination of the regime reopens a gap between that public timeline and reports of private appetite for earlier strikes, a gap his office has otherwise denied. Coming ahead of his own election, the call reads as Netanyahu seeking commitments beyond what Washington has promised in public, reviving the operational uncertainty the midterm pledge had temporarily set aside.