WASHINGTON, United States — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday for their first in-person discussions since the onset of the Iran war.
Golden Info reports that Netanyahu issued a statement before departing Israel on Monday. “This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility,” Netanyahu said. “We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us.”
The conflict began with joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in late February. Israel has not participated in the most recent hostilities between the United States and Iran, which escalated earlier this month following the collapse of an April ceasefire.
The Tuesday summit marks the eighth meeting between the leaders since Trump returned to office. Relations between the two administrations experienced tension during the April ceasefire negotiations, with Trump describing Netanyahu in an interview as a “very difficult guy”. Netanyahu downplayed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements”, stating both nations remain aligned on war objectives.
The leaders are expected to discuss the implementation of a US-sponsored framework deal signed by Israel and Lebanon last month. The talks will also address Gaza, where diplomatic efforts to initiate reconstruction are stalled nearly three years after the war between Israel and Hamas commenced.
According to Yonatan Freeman, an international relations expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Trump will likely focus on Iran and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, a series of normalisation agreements established with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
Netanyahu’s visit occurs months prior to Israel’s national elections, in which he plans to seek another term. Recent polls show Netanyahu trailing, with public anger lingering over the government’s failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war.