Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel remains committed to bringing down the government in Tehran.

He added that he had discussed the matter with US President Donald Trump as recently as Sunday.

In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said both he and Trump are committed to completing the elimination of the Iranian regime. He said he had raised the issue with the American leader “many times”, including the day before yesterday.

Speaking in northern Israel, he described the Iranian leadership as the head of a “venomous octopus” and argued that cutting it off would cause the whole network to collapse.

Netanyahu said that even if Iran’s government is battered and weakened, it is too fanatical to stop trying to build nuclear weapons and rebuild its network of regional allies.

He said the only way to prevent that is to remove the leadership altogether. He also claimed that toppling it would lead to the elimination of Hezbollah and bring peace with Lebanon.

The remarks came as Israeli media reported, citing sources, that Trump is “very close” to ordering renewed strikes on Iran. Three Israeli officials also said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth held a previously undisclosed meeting with Netanyahu in Israel on Monday, where Iran was discussed.

Separately, Israeli and Lebanese delegations were reported to be meeting at the US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would widen its security zone in Lebanon if Hezbollah joins Iran in any future attack on Israel.

On the diplomatic front, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said negotiations between Iran and the United States are continuing despite growing tensions and fears of renewed fighting.

Iranian officials, however, told Reuters that Tehran is deliberately prolonging the talks to influence the outcome of the US midterm elections. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also met Pakistan’s army chief on Tuesday to discuss mediation efforts.

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz added to the strain. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said two tankers were ablaze after hitting sea mines, a claim US Central Command called incorrect. Iran later said a supertanker it accused of violating regulations had struck a mine south of the strait.

The war began on 28 February, when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. A ceasefire took effect on 8 April, but talks have since stalled and the tensions have continued.