Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday in their first face-to-face talks since the outbreak of the Iran war. The meeting comes after months of public disagreements between the two leaders, although both have recently sought to ease tensions. The Iran war is expected to dominate discussions as Washington continues to push for negotiations while monitoring developments in the region. The Iran war remains a key issue shaping US-Israel relations and broader Middle East diplomacy.
The meeting will be the eighth between the two leaders since Trump returned to office last year and their first in-person discussion since the conflict began following US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Although Israel has not joined the latest hostilities between the United States and Iran, fighting resumed earlier this month after an April ceasefire collapsed.
“This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility,” Netanyahu said before departing from Israel on Monday.
“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.
After arriving in Washington, Netanyahu attended a private memorial dinner on Monday in honour of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. He is also expected to attend Graham’s memorial service on Tuesday.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu came under strain in April during negotiations over the Iran ceasefire. Trump reportedly criticised the Israeli leader publicly and later described him as a “very difficult guy” in an interview. Netanyahu dismissed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements”, insisting both leaders remained united on the broader objectives of the conflict.
Beyond the Iran war, the leaders are expected to review the implementation of the US-sponsored agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon last month. They are also likely to discuss Gaza, where reconstruction efforts remain stalled nearly three years after the conflict with Hamas began.
International relations expert Yonatan Freeman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said the visit is intended to demonstrate that ties between the two allies remain strong despite recent tensions.
“I think that the main issue… is to show the world, to show Iran, and also even Lebanon and others… that there is no break or any kind of major disagreement between the United States and Israel,” he told AFP.
“There’s more in agreement between the two leaders than disagreement,” he added.
Freeman believes any differences between the leaders concern strategy rather than overall goals. He also said Trump is likely to focus on Iran and expanding the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalisation agreements that established diplomatic ties between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and later Morocco.
Analysts also expect discussions on the possibility of reducing Israel’s military presence in Lebanon, Syria or Gaza.
The visit comes just months before Israel’s national elections, with recent polls showing Netanyahu trailing amid continued public criticism over his government’s handling of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.
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