WASHINGTON ( WNAM MONITORING): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House on Tuesday for his first in-person talks with President Donald Trump since the Iran war began, as the leaders sought to patch over public disagreements on the conflict.
Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, which flared earlier this month as an April ceasefire collapsed.
The meeting was the eighth between the leaders since Trump’s return to office in early 2025 and comes ahead of key electoral tests later this year for both Netanyahu and the US president: national elections in Israel and midterm polls in the United States.
Netanyahu said his talk with Trump was “one of the best” he has had with a US president.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump on Tuesday as “excellent.”
He added that it was “a conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well. One of the best conversations I’ve had with the President of the United States, our friend Donald Trump.”
The Israeli Prime Minister met with Trump in the White House for about 90 minutes of talks, in a meeting that was closed to press coverage.
He said that Trump’s “entire senior team” was present at the meeting, as well as “our senior team,” and that it was “an opportunity to exchange ideas and to coordinate arrangements that are important for the security and future of the State of Israel.”
As he was leaving, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement on X noting that Trump had concluded his meetings with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy.\
She said: “Both meetings were positive and productive!”
Upon arriving in Washington, Netanyahu attended a private memorial dinner on Monday evening in honor of the late senator Lindsey Graham, his office said.
He was also scheduled to attend the memorial service for Graham later Tuesday.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu reached a low point in April during negotiations on the ceasefire with Iran, with Trump unleashing profanity-laced tirades against his Israeli ally.
Trump later described Netanyahu in an interview as a “very difficult guy.”
Netanyahu downplayed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements,” saying they were aligned on the goals of the war.
On Tuesday, the leaders were expected to discuss the implementation of a US-sponsored framework deal signed by Israel and Lebanon last month, whose application on the ground has been challenging.
