JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basked in Donald Trump's endorsement on Monday ahead of close-fought elections, airing a phone...

call in which the US president predicted he would win and suggested they may again attack Iran together. A day after Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu for the October 27 vote, Netanyahu put out a video of a telephone call in which the two right-wing leaders lavish praise on each other. "I think you're going to have a tremendous victory, actually", Trump can be heard saying on speakerphone. "You're the man I want by my side, Bibi", Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Netanyahu -- while reminding the famously loose-lipped president that they were on an open line -- hailed Trump for joining Israel in attacking Iran in February. "Donald, we have a job to finish", Netanyahu beamed. "We'll finish it together. We'll finish it, and no one else will do it." Netanyahu did not elaborate but again described Iran's clerical state, which remains in power nearly eight months after the joint attack, as "the greatest danger". Netanyahu appeared to be speaking to Trump from an air force base from which he earlier released a video warning that he had been assured of Israel's "capability to strike our enemies the moment it is required". Trump, 80, and Netanyahu, who turns 77 on Wednesday, have forged a close partnership at a time when both are vastly unpopular in public opinion in most democratic nations. The pair have also managed to avoid prosecution while in power, with Netanyahu facing charges of corruption that could land him in prison. Trump, who remains bitter over cases against him including over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, told Netanyahu he was a "warrior" who had been "treated unfairly by your country and by some others". Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the relentless Israeli offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Netanyahu has denounced the charges, while the Trump administration has tried to dismantle the court in The Hague through sanctions. (Bssnews)