Trump renews Netanyahu pardon call, saying only Iran should be troubling him

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ​called again on Israel's president ​to grant Prime Minister Benjamin ‌Netanyahu a ​pardon for corruption charges, saying the premier should have nothing on his mind but the war with Iran. * Trump ⁠has called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant Netanyahu a pardon several times ​before. * Netanyahu submitted his pardon request in November.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ​called again on Israel's president ​to grant Prime Minister Benjamin ‌Netanyahu a ​pardon for corruption charges, saying the premier should have nothing on his mind but the war with Iran. * Trump, ‌referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, said in an interview with Israel's N12 television news: "President Herzog must give Bibi a pardon today. I don't want there to ‌be anything troubling Bibi other than the war with Iran ... Herzog is a disgrace ... ‌he promised me five times to give Bibi a pardon."

* President Isaac Herzog's office did not immediately respond to Trump's reported remarks. KEY CONTEXT

* Netanyahu is Israel's first sitting prime minister to ⁠be charged ​with a crime ⁠and denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment. * Trump ⁠has called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant Netanyahu a pardon several times ​before.

* Netanyahu submitted his pardon request in November. * Herzog has in ⁠the past disputed Trump's claim that he had promised to grant Netanyahu a pardon and in ⁠February ​said, in response to a similar call by Trump, that Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law.

* The United States and ⁠Israel on Saturday launched a joint bombing campaign against Iran. WHAT'S NEXT

* Under Israeli ⁠law, the president ⁠has the authority to pardon convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial. The legal process of a ‌pardon ‌can be slow.