Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday for the first time since the Iran conflict began—a war over which the two leaders have publicly disagreed.
While relations between Netanyahu and Trump have appeared strained in recent months, both leaders have attempted to diffuse tension.
The ongoing conflict will likely dominate Tuesday’s discussion, especially as Washington expresses a desire to pursue diplomatic talks following the joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran in late February.
Recall that Israel has stayed out of the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, which erupted earlier this month after an April ceasefire collapsed.
Tuesday’s meeting will mark the eighth between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu since Trump’s return to office last year, and their first face-to-face meeting since the war began.
Before leaving Israel on Monday, the Israeli PM said, “This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility,”
“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,” he added.
According to the Israeli PM’s office, Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday evening and attended a private memorial luncheon in honour of the late Lindsey Graham, according to his office.
He will also attend Graham’s memorial service later today, Tuesday, July 28.
Backstory…
The meeting marks the first face-to-face engagement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump since the Iran war, a conflict that significantly reshaped security dynamics across the Middle East.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu reached a low point in April during talks over a ceasefire with Iran, when Trump reportedly launched profanity-laced criticism of the Israeli leader.
In a subsequent interview, Trump described Netanyahu as “a very difficult guy.”
Read Also: ‘There’d Be No Israel Without Me’ — Trump Fires Back at Netanyahu
Netanyahu however, downplayed the exchange, describing it as a series of “tactical disagreements” and insisting that both leaders remained aligned on the war’s overall objectives.
Meanwhile, the both leaders are also expected to discuss Gaza, where diplomatic efforts to revive reconstruction in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory have stalled.
Nearly three years after the war between Israel and Hamas began, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. Israel has continued military operations in the territory, including strikes that it says target militants.
