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Netanyahu heads to Washington
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington around midnight Israel time for his seventh visit to the US capital since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January last year, with the meeting set for 11 a.m. Washington time Tuesday.
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The trip comes as the United States pauses its strikes on Iran and Trump publicly touts what he described as constructive contacts with Tehran, saying, “We’re having friendly talks. We’re talking to them right now,” while adding that the US and Israel remained closely aligned on Iran.
Netanyahu is also due about three hours later to attend the funeral of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the visit is framed as a signal to Iran, the American public and Israelis that his relationship with Trump remains strong, including accommodation at Blair House.
Ynetnews reported that the meeting is the eighth between the two leaders during Trump’s current term, and it noted that Netanyahu’s Wednesday schedule has not yet been announced although he is expected to hold additional meetings.
IranWire reported that Netanyahu announced before departing for Washington that Iran would be the main focus of his upcoming discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump, and that Iran remained at the top of the agenda.
Talks, threats, and red lines
As Trump pursues diplomacy while keeping military leverage, he said during a campaign rally in Michigan, “You can't bribe them... you have to defeat them, and we will inflict a crushing defeat on them,” while also describing “very friendly negotiations taking place.”
The Al-Quds Al-Arabi account added that Trump warned that if diplomacy fails, “we will return to a very strong military operation,” and it quoted him saying he would not give negotiations much time for “either things move quickly, or they will not happen at all.”
Channel 12 Israel, citing sources, said Netanyahu and security officials drafted a list of red lines ahead of the Netanyahu–Trump meeting, including removing Iran’s enriched uranium from Iran and preserving freedom of action to remove threats on all fronts.
The same Channel 12 Israel report said Israel’s security establishment estimated Trump would exert very heavy pressure on Israel to withdraw from the demilitarized zones on the borders with Syria and Lebanon, while Israel would insist on remaining in them.
In parallel, Netanyahu told Fox News that the war on Iran will end when the Iranian regime falls or is weakened enough to realize the need to end its nuclear program, and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Trump is “naive” and should deal with the Iranians through force only.
What’s at stake next
The sources frame the immediate stakes around whether the US resumes a broader campaign against Iran after a temporary lull, with IranWire saying the trip comes during a temporary lull in hostilities following 13 days of U.S. airstrikes against Iran and retaliatory strikes across the region by the Islamic Republic.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday, before departing for Washington, that Iran would be the main focus of his upcoming discussions with U”
IranWire reported that the U.S. Department of Defense paused its bombing operations on Friday evening, with no new U.S. strikes reported over the following two days, and it said the Islamic Republic stated it will refrain from military responses as long as the U.S. does not initiate further attacks.
Ynetnews said Israeli officials believe the Iranians now feel emboldened and increasingly confident that they enjoy a degree of immunity, while Trump said he is giving negotiations another chance and that the US could resume attacks if diplomacy fails.
The Jerusalem Post described the meeting as coming amid heightened tensions with Iran and uncertainty over whether the US will launch another major offensive against Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, or whether the current low-intensity warfare could last weeks or even months.
In addition to Iran, the i24NEWS account said Netanyahu’s cabinet meeting included discussion of operations in the West Bank after a deadly shooting last week, with Netanyahu directing actions “to enter the villages, search them, seize weapons, and arrest suspects,” and it reported an operation at a hospital in Nablus where two accomplices were apprehended.
