Netanyahu To Visit White House as Early as Next Week

Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as early as next week, President Trump has said, as negotiations for lasting peace with Iran continue.

Trump said Netanyahu asked for the meeting, which could take place directly after the President returns from the NATA summit in Turkey, on Wednesday.

Netanyahu last visited the White House in February, weeks before the joint military operation against Iran, which began on 28 February.

Although the US and Iran are now negotiating to bring the war to a permanent end, a sticking point has been Israel’s war with Hezbollah, in Lebanon.

The conduct of the war in Lebanon has drawn criticism from Iran and from President Trump himself, including in a direct phone call with Netanyahu.

The Trump administration has responded vigorously to Israeli criticism of the negotiations with Iran, and Vice President JD Vance warned Israel that she has few allies apart from the United States.

At the end of last month, the US, Israel and Lebanon signed a trilateral agreement to bring hostilities in Lebanon to a close. Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from Lebanon, and the Lebanese government would disarm Hezbollah.

In a new interview with Axios, President Trump has said Netanyahu “knows who the boss is.”

He also said he had been paying close attention to the funeral event for Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war.

“They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with,” Trump said.

The President added that although Tehran is “begging to make a deal,” negotiations have been paused for a week to allow the funeral proceedings to take place.