Trump says US, Israel ‘pretty close’ on Iran ahead of Netanyahu meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington and Israel remain closely aligned on Iran ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, as U.S.-Iran negotiations continue during a pause in the fighting. “We’re pretty close when it comes to Iran,” Trump said, referring to coordination with Israel. Iran is expected to dominate Tuesday’s meeting, which comes after the United States halted its strikes against Iranian targets for the first time in nearly two weeks and Iran paused its retaliatory attacks. The lull has given mediators another opportunity to pursue an agreement. Trump said Monday that the talks were continuing and expressed optimism about their prospects. “We’re talking with Iran right now,” he said. “We are having good talks.” “There’s a good chance something will happen,” he added. Trump also said he had “plenty of time,” despite telling Axios earlier Monday that he was unwilling to wait long if the negotiations failed to produce progress. “We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action,” Trump told the outlet. Asked in that interview how long he was prepared to wait, Trump replied: “Not much time. Either it goes fast or not at all.” Trump said he had agreed to pause U.S. attacks after mediators involved in the negotiations urged him to give diplomacy another chance. “All of the people that deal with Iran asked me, ‘Don’t fire,’” he said, adding that he believed Tehran wanted to reach an agreement. The president nevertheless emphasized that the military option remained available. “We have a lot of ammunition,” he said Monday. “I’d like to have more.” Trump described the decision to pause the strikes as carrying little downside, noting that oil prices had fallen and stock markets had risen during the lull. “Nothing gained, nothing lost,” he told Axios. The immediate diplomatic effort is focused on an interim arrangement intended to restore safe commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where weeks of attacks and military operations have disrupted traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Oman is leading the mediation, with Qatar, Egypt and Pakistan also playing roles. Trump’s Middle East envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are participating alongside regional mediators. The interim effort is intended to stabilize maritime traffic before broader negotiations resume over Iran’s nuclear program. Significant differences remain over Tehran’s nuclear activities and security arrangements in the Gulf. Iran has confirmed that indirect contacts through mediators are continuing, while maintaining that it is not currently seeking direct negotiations with Washington and that it controls the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said his meeting with Netanyahu would address the Iranian nuclear threat and his administration’s military actions. “I am going to talk to Bibi about the fact that if I weren’t president, Iran would have had nuclear weapons by now and Israel would have been destroyed,” he told Axios, using Netanyahu’s nickname. Israeli officials have supported renewed diplomacy but have insisted that any agreement must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and address the continuing threat from its nuclear and missile programs. Trump also addressed the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, defending Ankara as a reliable NATO ally and rejecting outside efforts to dictate U.S. arms policy. “Turkey has been a good ally,” he said. “Nobody tells me what we should be selling.”