Tel Aviv, 23 March 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Washington sees a chance to turn recent military gains into an agreement with Iran, while vowing to continue strikes against the country.

Netanyahu said he had spoken earlier in the day with US President Donald Trump.

"President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the US military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests," he said in a video message.

At the same time, Netanyahu stressed that Israel would continue its military campaign against Iran. "We are smashing the missile programme and the nuclear programme," he said.

He also indicated that operations against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon would continue.

Trump had earlier said the United States had held "detailed" and "constructive" talks with Iran, which are expected to continue this week.

He said the two sides had reached agreement on around 15 points of a potential deal and that there was broad alignment on most issues.

Iran denied that any talks have taken place, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissing it as "fake news" aimed at manipulating financial and oil markets.

Israeli broadcaster N12, citing security sources, reported that Israel is concerned any potential agreement might not address Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Israel has long sought to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, while Iran denies such intentions.

MIA file photo