Trump, Netanyahu tout "productive" meeting after weeks of tensions
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President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval Office, along with a contingent of officials from both governments. (Provided by Israeli Government Press Office)
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office Tuesday for a "productive" 90-minute session on the Iran war — free of any public sign of tensions that have marked their relationship over the past several weeks.
Why it matters: The meeting could have gone the other way, given Trump's frustration with the Israeli leader over the war, which he even alluded to publicly shortly before Netanyah arrived at the White House. The fact that both sides described it as positive is a win for Bibi.
Driving the news: An account provided by the Israeli government stressed that the two leaders are in close coordination on the war and that there is no daylight between them.
- "There is no truth in the claim that Israel is pushing the U.S. in a certain direction on the Iran issue," Netanyahu's communication director, Tzipi Hotovely, told reporters. "The Prime Minister is not telling the U.S. President what to do and is not pushing him in any direction. Both sides want to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. There are many ways to achieve this goal."
- Aside from Iran, Hotovely said Trump and Netanyahu discussed the possibility of Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel, which Trump called for as part of a Saudi nuclear deal.
- The U.S. sale of F-35s to Turkey, which Israel opposes, was not raised at the meeting. And Trump did not demand that Israel withdraw troops from areas they are occupying, Hotovely said.
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Israel's description of the meeting, calling it "good and productive."
- Unlike most of their previous Oval Office meetings, this one was private and reporters were not invited in. Netanyahu's office provided photos afterward.
What they're saying: Netanyahu said on Instagram afterward that his conversation with Trump today was one of the best they've ever had.
- "We have a mutual understanding that the goal is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon," he said.
Context: After locking arms on the launch of Operation Epic Fury in late February, tensions have grown between the two men as the war drags on far longer than Trump predicted.
- In a Fox News interview shortly before their meeting, Trump scoffed at the idea that Netanyahu was exaggerating the threat of nuclear activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain.
- "I don't need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi's telling me that because he wants me to stay involved," Trump said.
- Several other times, Trump has used colorful language to demean Netanyahu and insist he controls the Israeli prime minister. In late May, as Axios first reported, he called Netanyahu "f---ing crazy" during a call about Israel's actions in Lebanon.
