Trump tells Netanyahu not to strike Iran

President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday not to retaliate against Iran's missile attack and allow more time for diplomacy, according to a senior U.S. official and an Israeli source familiar with details of the call.

Why it matters: Trump's effort to restrain an Israeli response signals his administration's push to keep escalating Israel-Iran tensions from derailing ongoing U.S. negotiations with Tehran.

State of play: Trump told Axios before the call that he planned to urge Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran's missile attack, which Tehran said was a response to an Israeli strike in Beirut earlier Sunday.

• The senior U.S. official said the Trump administration didn't give a "green light" to the Israeli strike in Beirut.

Behind the scenes: Trump told Netanyahu during the call to hold off because "we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal," according to the U.S. official.

• Netanyahu pushed back but ultimately "pseudo agreed" to stand down, the official said.
• The official said Sunday's call was calmer than last week's tense exchange between the leaders and that Trump did not raise his voice at Netanyahu.
• "We think the president bought a little bit of time. He is pretty adamant that we are close to a deal with Iran. I don't think anything is imminent in terms of an Israeli strike," the U.S. official said.
• "We are in a moment in time —  that why jeopardize a potential deal when you are in the fourth quarter? The president thinks that we have been in this thing for three months — now is the time to end this thing," the U.S. official added.

What he's saying: Trump told the Financial Times that Netanyahu "won't have any choice" but to accept any deal the U.S. secures from negotiations with Iran.

• "I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn't call the shots," Trump said of Netanyahu.

Go deeper: Israel strikes Beirut after Hezbollah attack