Scoop: Netanyahu planning to visit White House Monday
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Netanyahu and Trump at the White House on Monday. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Image
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit the White House on Monday, four sources with knowledge tell Axios.
Why it matters: If the visit takes place as planned, Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet President Trump in person to try to negotiate a deal to remove Trump's tariffs. The leaders are also expected to discuss the Iran nuclear crisis and the war in Gaza.
- To visit this week, however, Netanyahu would have to ask the judges in his corruption trial to cancel planned hearings during which he was expected to continue his testimony.
- The sources said the plan could still change, in large part for that reason.
- Update: A White House official confirmed the meeting will take place on Monday.
Driving the news: Israel tried to avoid the tariffs Trump imposed on nearly every country in the world by announcing it would preemptively lift all tariffs on U.S. products. It didn't work.
- The 17% rate Trump set for Israel was based on the significant U.S. bilateral trade deficit.
Behind the scenes: Trump called Netanyahu and Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday while the Israeli prime minister was visiting Budapest.
- The call was prompted by Hungary's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), but Netanyahu also raised the newly announced tariffs.
- Trump suggested Netanyahu come to the White House to discuss the matter, without setting a clear date. Several hours later, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Netanyahu would be visiting Washington soon, "maybe even next week."
- Netanyahu and his team were surprised by that remark, as were some of Trump's aides.
Initially, U.S. and Israeli officials had expected the visit to take place later in April, possibly during Passover week, which starts on April 14.
- But during discussions between the White House and Netanyahu's office on Friday, the idea of visiting sooner began to take shape, the four sources said.
- The White House and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office didn't immediately respond to requests for a comment.
The big picture: Iran and Gaza are expected to be on the agenda, in addition to tariffs.
- Netanyahu thinks the chances of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal are extremely low and wants to reach an understanding with Trump about striking Iran's nuclear facilities when diplomacy fails, a senior Israeli official said.
- Trump and Netanyahu will also likely discuss the stalled efforts to reach a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Go deeper: Trump to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE
This story was updated with confirmation from the White House official.
