Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday to “discuss negotiations with Iran,” Netanyahu announced on Saturday.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said it believes that any negotiations should include curbing ballistic missiles and freezing support for the “Iranian axis,” referring to armed factions backed by Tehran in the region.
Iran and the United States held a round of talks in Oman on Friday, after which Trump announced that another round would take place “early next week.”
This will be the sixth meeting between Trump and Netanyahu since the U.S. president took office at the White House in early 2025.
The United States and Israel, close allies, share hostility toward Iran. Amid talks between Tehran and Washington last year, Israel launched a war against the Islamic Republic, with Washington intervening by striking major nuclear facilities.
Earlier this week, analyst Michael Horowitz said that Israel’s public stance toward Iran is more hardline than that of the United States, noting that Israel seeks “regime change, or at least the complete dismantling of nuclear and missile capabilities.”
The talks between Iran and the United States come after Trump threatened military action against the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protests. Tehran, for its part, has vowed to respond to any attack it faces.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, warned that Israel would respond with unprecedented force if Iran were to attack it in retaliation for any U.S. strikes.
— AFP
