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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had an “extremely positive” meeting in Washington on Tuesday in which they committed to ensuring Iran never possessed nuclear weapons, a senior source in the premier’s delegation said.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
“It was an extremely positive meeting. The Prime Minister and President held an excellent and comprehensive discussion on the key issues of the day, first and foremost Iran,” the unnamed source was quoted as saying in media reports.
“The leaders reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to ensuring that Iran never has nuclear weapons.”
The talks lasted about 90 minutes and were described by the White House as “positive and productive.”
The discussions were expected to focus on the war with Iran, which has paused in recent weeks as Washington pursues diplomacy.
“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us,” Netanyahu said before departing from Israel.
The meeting was the eighth between Trump and Netanyahu since the US president returned to office in early 2025 and came ahead of elections in Israel and US midterms later this year.
It is also their first since the latest US-Iran hostilities that flared earlier this month, after an April ceasefire collapsed. Israel did not take part in the latest fighting.
Shortly after arriving in Washington, Netanyahu attended a private memorial dinner on Monday evening for the late Senator Lindsey Graham and was due to attend his memorial service later on Tuesday, according to his office.
The leaders were also expected to discuss implementation of a US-backed agreement between Israel and Lebanon, as well as stalled efforts to rebuild Gaza.
Nearly three years after the war between Israel and Hamas began, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, and Israel continues to regularly target people the military says are ‘militants’.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu reached a low point in April during negotiations over the Iran ceasefire, with Trump publicly criticising the Israeli leader.
Trump later described Netanyahu as “a very difficult guy” in an interview, while Netanyahu dismissed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements,” saying they remained aligned on the war’s objectives.