Netanyahu seeks Iran consensus with rivals

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened cabinet rivals on Monday for their first discussion of Israeli strategy against the Iranian nuclear programme since U.S. President Joe Biden took office pledging to pursue diplomacy with Tehran.

Netanyahu's meeting with Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi followed his first phone call with the U.S. leader last week, and came a month before Israel holds another election triggered by coalition infighting.

Israeli officials said the conservative Netanyahu, bracing for discord with Biden's Democratic administration on Iran, wanted to present a united front with the centrist Gantz and Ashkenazi. "This is a matter that is supremely important, certainly more than politicking," an Israeli official said. "We have to ensure everyone is on board and not tempted to speak out of turn in hope of getting more votes." Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.