MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump and Netanyahu meet at the White House as contacts to negotiate with Iran advance

Netanyahu described the meeting as one of the best he has had with Trump, and an Israeli source cited by specialist outlets said the two agreed that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday for about 90 minutes at the White House, in their first encounter since the joint offensive against Iran began in February. The meeting was held behind closed doors, with no appearance before the press, as Washington seeks to revive negotiations with Tehran.

Netanyahu described the meeting as one of the best he has had with Trump, and an Israeli source cited by specialist outlets said the two agreed that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon. The White House called the meeting positive. The encounter came, however, after weeks of public differences between the two governments over the direction of the war.

Hours earlier, asked about the intelligence the Israeli prime minister planned to present to him regarding an Iranian nuclear facility, Trump played down the matter: “I don't need Bibi to tell me. We know perfectly well what is going on,” he told a US television channel. He also brushed off calls to intensify the strikes.

Their priorities differ. For Washington, the central issue is the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on energy prices; for Israel, Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. US bombing ceased last week after two weeks of uninterrupted strikes, and mediators from Pakistan, Egypt, and Qatar are working to define the navigation regime through the strait, one of the issues that sank June's ceasefire. Iran and Oman have reportedly endorsed a proposal, though the Iranian government warned the waterway will remain closed if its security conditions are not addressed. Brent crude fell 2.9% on Tuesday, to around $86 a barrel, on expectations that talks would resume.

Two other matters were on the Israeli agenda: the potential US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, which Israel sees as a threat to its regional military superiority, and the nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, which Washington has made conditional on Riyadh recognizing the State of Israel. On the first point, Trump had been blunt days earlier: “Nobody tells me what we should sell,” he said, describing Turkey as an ally.

Both leaders face demanding electoral calendars: Trump, November's midterm elections; Netanyahu, a reelection bid in October. Criticism of the US involvement in the conflict has grown among the president's supporters: former White House strategist Steve Bannon questioned the frequency of the Israeli prime minister's visits and said Trump's staunchest backers are angry.

Israel signed a framework peace agreement with Lebanon weeks ago, though it refuses to withdraw all its troops from the country's south without Hezbollah's disarmament. As a gesture ahead of the meeting, it carried out a first partial withdrawal in one area of southern Lebanon. Netanyahu used his trip to attend the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who held a brief meeting with Trump.