US President Donald Trump removed National Security Adviser Mike Waltz following growing concerns over the latter’s increasingly hardline position on Iran, especially his alignment with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in promoting military options over diplomatic engagement, according to multiple reports citing senior White House officials and advisers.
The reports noted that tensions between Trump and Waltz had escalated for weeks before the dismissal. According to the sources, Waltz not only pushed for a militaristic solution to the Iranian nuclear question but also allegedly committed a grave security lapse by disclosing classified US military operations in Yemen to a journalist—an act that sparked considerable backlash within the administration.
“He wanted to take US policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the US hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution,” a source familiar with the discussions told reporters. “It got back to Trump, and the president wasn’t happy with it,” the person added.
Waltz had reportedly been at odds with top White House officials “since early in the administration,” particularly over his resistance to President Trump’s emphasis on diplomatic avenues for resolving tensions with Tehran.
While announcing Waltz’s dismissal last week, Trump nominated him as the next US ambassador to the United Nations. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assumed the role of National Security Adviser.
Waltz had previously engaged in what was described as a “warm meeting” with Netanyahu and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff at Blair House in February, ahead of the Israeli Prime Minister’s official talks with Trump. The Israeli PMO confirmed the meeting in a post on X.
Reports suggest that Waltz, with backing from pro-Netanyahu quarters, had been urging the United States to join Israel in launching military operations against Iran—an initiative the Trump administration ultimately rejected. “Mike Waltz was pushing the US to start a war with Iran with the help of the Israeli side... [but] the plan was shut down,” a source said.
Observers note that Trump, during his current tenure, has leaned towards diplomatic engagements with Tehran, marking the most substantial contact since the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord under his first administration.
The fourth round of nuclear programme talks, expected to be held in Oman on Saturday, was abruptly cancelled by the Iranian delegation, which cited “logistical issues” as the cause.
Several American commentators and lawmakers have publicly stated that a military conflict with Iran would primarily serve the interests of Netanyahu’s government. Israel has consistently opposed any negotiations that fail to achieve what it calls a “Libya-style agreement”—a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, civilian and military alike.
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