WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran and other issues, the White House said in a brief statement. “The leaders discussed the threat from Iran, as well as other critical bilateral and regional issues,” the statement read. Relations between Iran and the United States have worsened since last year, when Trump pulled out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on the country. While details of the discussion have not been released, it comes as Netanyahu and the Foreign Ministry sharply criticized six European countries for their intention to join INSTEX, a barter mechanism designed to bypass American sanctions by avoiding use of the dollar. According to a statement on Sunday from the Foreign Ministry, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden “could not have picked worse timing.” “The hundreds of innocent Iranians murdered during the latest round of protests are rolling in their graves,” the statement said, before going on to question what sort of a message the gesture sends the people of Iran. Around 200 people have been killed in recent protests in the Islamic nation; the government also cut access to the Internet, preventing citizens from sharing what was happening in Iran with the wider world. Although some service has been resumed, access to social media sites is still limited. In response, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has called on techies around the world to work together to restore the Internet to the people of Iran. “How about every techie in the world – Israelis, Arabs, Iranians, Americans, Europeans and everyone else – unite for one purpose: to help the long-suffering Iranian people gain open access to social media. A worldwide hackathon for freedom,” he said. “Whether you’re a senior engineer at an AI startup or simply tinkering in your own garage, everyone had a role to play. Call up your most brilliant friends, grab some Red Bull and code through the night to do the impossible.”
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