The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, meets this Wednesday with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, at the White House with the aim of promoting a tougher stance towards Iran in the midst of negotiations on its nuclear program, in a meeting quickly organized as contacts between Washington and Tehran advance.
The meeting is scheduled for 11:00 (local time).In the prelude, Trump stated that he is considering sending a second American “army” to the Middle East to pressure Iran to close a nuclear deal.“Either we reach an agreement or we will have to do something very hard like the last time,” the president said in an interview with Axios.He also added: “We have an armada heading there and another could be on the way.”
Netanyahu traveled to Washington on his sixth visit to the United States since Trump’s return to power in January 2025. The Israeli leader seeks to harden the US position both on the nuclear level and against the Iranian ballistic missile program, considered a direct threat by the Israeli government.
Tehran resumed talks with Washington in Oman last week.On Monday, Iranian officials warned of “destructive influences” on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s visit to the US capital.Netanyahu had planned to travel on February 19 to participate in a meeting of the so-called “Peace Council” on Gaza, but he moved up his agenda as contacts between the United States and Iran progressed.
On Tuesday night, already in Washington, Netanyahu held a meeting with Trump’s Middle East envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.According to a statement published on the prime minister’s official account on the X network, the representatives “discussed regional issues and provided an update on the first round of negotiations they held with Iran last Friday.”
Trump expressed expectations about the possibility of a nuclear deal, although he warned that any understanding would have to include clear limits.In statements to Fox Business, he maintained that the pact would have to involve “no nuclear weapons, no missiles.”He also indicated that Iranian leaders “want to reach an agreement,” but stressed that “it has to be a good agreement,” and stated that Tehran had been “very dishonest with us over the years.”
Netanyahu noted before his departure that the central topic of the meeting will be Iran.“I will present to the president our positions on the principles for negotiations,” he said in a video message.His office reported that it will highlight the Iranian missile arsenal as one of the main points of concern.
Tensions between Israel and Iran reached a critical point during last year’s war, when Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles into Israeli territory, hitting military and civilian areas.Washington seeks to include the missile program and Iranian support for regional armed groups in the talks, while Tehran refuses to expand the scope of the negotiations beyond the nuclear issue.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also referred to the diplomatic process during a visit to Australia and expressed his hope that the talks would contribute to confronting what he described as Iran’s “evil empire.”
The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu also occurs amid international criticism of Israeli measures aimed at strengthening control over the occupied West Bank.The Israeli security cabinet approved allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners before the prime minister’s trip to Washington.
A US official, consulted by AFP, said on Monday that Trump “does not support Israel annexing the West Bank” and that he seeks stability, although he avoided direct criticism of the Israeli government’s decisions.
