The last time Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the White House, it was so he and President Donald Trump could finalize a deal to end one war in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, he returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue determined to stop Trump from rushing into another deal that could prevent a far bloodier war from starting in the same region.
Netanyahu arrived at the White House just before 11:00 am — his seventh visit in the year since Trump returned to power last January — for a closed-door sit-down with his American counterpart to discuss Trump’s push for a new-look deal with the Iranian government aimed at curbing the Islamic Republic’s longstanding nuclear ambitions.
He left just before 2:00 pm, with neither he nor Trump appearing before cameras or taking questions from reporters as is customary when foreign leaders visit the White House.
But Trump took to Truth Social within minutes of Netanyahu’s departure to characterize the session as a “very good meeting” that had not resulted in any decisions being made on what any future Iran deal would look like — but talks would continue.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference,” he said.
“If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be. Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible.”
Trump added that the two leaders had discussed “tremendous progress being made in Gaza” as well.
The Israeli leader’s visit with Trump comes as American and Iranian representatives are set to resume talks in Oman within days following a trip there last week for a rare face-to-face discussion over how to approach negotiations over an agreement that could address Tehran’s weapons program, which Trump had claimed to have “obliterated” in a series of bunker-buster attacks by B-2 bombers last June.
The initial session, which was led on the American side by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and roving peace envoy Steve Witkoff, came after Washington backed out of a plan to meet for direct talks in Istanbul, Turkey. But Iranian officials balked at the proposed format and insisted on limiting the scope of any negotiations to the country’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, which comes as negotiators are preparing for further bilateral talks, was announced immediately after what Trump had described as “very good talks” between Kushner, Witkoff, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi — the first meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials since the June 22 airstrikes.
The Israeli leader is understood to be extremely wary of any attempt by Trump to reach an accord on Iran’s nuclear program if negotiations don’t include requirements that Iran similarly agree to curb its ballistic missile program and support for proxy militias in the region.
His insistence on including missiles and proxys in any nuclear agreement dates back at least a decade, to when he came out as a vehement opponent of efforts by the Obama administration along with the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the E.U. to implement the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that relaxed sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on Iranian uranium enrichment.
Netanyahu’s decision to deliver a bombastic address to a joint session of Congress opposing the deal and to court Republicans against the Obama administration endeared him to Trump, who pulled the U.S. out of the agreement during his first term.
But it’s not clear whether Trump still has the same broader desires with respect to any potential replacement agreement.
In recent weeks, he said his goal in pushing Iran to “make a deal” is solely to ensure that Tehran does not ever develop a nuclear weapon — something the country’s leaders have disclaimed any interest in.
But did express some agreement with Netanyahu’s longstanding position during an interview with former National Economic Council director turned Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow on Wednesday when he said that Iran’s rulers “want to make a deal.”
“It’s got to be a good deal. No nuclear weapons, no missiles, no this, no that, all the different things that you want,” he said.
To that end, Trump has deployed one U.S. Navy carrier strike group to the region and is reportedly mulling whether to order a second such group to join it in what would be an unusual and escalatory military buildup.
He told Axios in a separate interview ahead of the meeting with Netanyahu that either the U.S. and Iran “will make a deal” or he “will have to do something very tough like last time.”
The military pressure campaign also comes at a delicate moment for the Iranian government, which is reeling from the economic effects of longstanding sanctions and struggling to tamp down civil unrest.
Last month, a violent crackdown against anti-government protesters killed as many as 6,800 people, according to human rights groups.
Trump has also threatened military action if Tehran had hanged protesters arrested during the crackdown, but he later backed off those threats after he claimed to have been informed that the hangings had been called off.
