Trump, Netanyahu discuss Iran over phone

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have discussed a range of  Iran-related issues over the phone, the White House says, amid growing speculation that Washington will pull out from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

The conversation took place on Statuary and the two allies discussed "threats and challenges facing the Middle East region, especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities," the White House said Sunday.

Trump is a few weeks away from making a decision on the future of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran agreed under the deal with the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for removal of all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

However, Trump thinks that the JCPOA, achieved under his predecessor Barack Obama, is flawed and needs to be "fixed" or otherwise scrapped in its entirety. This is a viewpoint that he shares with Netanyahu.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany reaffirm their support for the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump wants the deal to guarantee unlimited access to Iran's military sites for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s inspectors.

The American head of state also wants certain mechanisms to be included in the deal in order to limit Iran's development and testing of ballistic missiles.

His most important demand, however, is probably addressing Iran's growing influence in the Middle East which has stirred concern in Israel and Saudi Arabia, America's two closest regional allies.

The Iranian president says Tehran will not accept any restriction on its nuclear program beyond the JCPOA.

The Tel Aviv regime has always been unsettled by Iran's military might, and specially its ability to target the occupied Palestinian lands.

However, what has really made the Israeli leaders anxious is Tehran's undeniable influence in curbing the kind of militancy and terrorism that Riyadh and Tel Aviv hoped would help them form a more united front against Iran by taking out popular governments in Iraq and Syria.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump at a White House meeting that he was leading a trilateral effort with Britain and Germany to find the "fixes" that he wants so the deal can be preserved.

Iran, meanwhile, has made it clear that it would not sit down for a renegotiation of the JCPOA.

Tehran also regards its missile program and regional activities as part of its "national interests" that are not up for negotiation.