Washington: US President Donald Trump heard about Israel’s security needs from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting on Wednesday as the United States and Iran hold separate talks amid soaring tensions in the region.
“They discussed the negotiations with Iran, Gaza and regional developments,” Netanyahu’s office said after the meeting at the White House.
Of the US negotiations with Iran, the statement said: “The Prime Minister emphasized the security needs of the State of Israel in the context of the negotiations, and the two leaders agreed on continued coordination and the close contact between them.”
Israel views Iran’s nuclear and missile programme as its greatest existential threat.
Israel has repeatedly warned against an agreement with Iran that is limited to the nuclear programme, which Israel sees as a direct threat to its existence.
Israel is calling for negotiations between the US and Iran to include both a limitation on ballistic missiles and an end to the support of Iran’s allies in the region.
Tehran however seeks to focus solely on its nuclear programme.
After meeting Netanyahu, Trump said he insisted that talks with Iran should continue in order to find out whether an agreement can be reached. If so, that would be his preferred option, he wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible.”
US and Iranian envoys began talks in Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Friday. A date for a possible continuation has not yet been set.
Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump was held behind closed doors and was not followed by a press conference, which could indicate that the US president was seeking to prevent any disagreements becoming public.
A senior Iranian official urged caution. Before Netanyahu’s departure, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, wrote on the online platform X: “[The] Americans must think wisely and not allow him, through posturing, to imply before his flight that ‘I want to go and teach Americans the framework of the nuclear negotiations.’ They must remain alert to the destructive role of the Zionists.”
Meanwhile, several Israeli media outlets reported that Israel considers war with Iran inevitable and ultimately only a matter of time, citing Tehran’s firm stance and Washington’s again raising its military presence in the region.
After Iran violently suppressed mass protests, with thousands of demonstrators reported killed, Trump threatened Tehran with military intervention and strengthened the US military presence in the region, including with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Netanyahu joins the Board of Peace
Trump also referred to Gaza in his post. “Additionally, we discussed the tremendous progress being made in Gaza, and the Region in general. There is truly PEACE in the Middle East,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Ahead of the two leaders’ talks, Netanyahu met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and formally signed a letter about his accession to the Board of Peace.
Founded by Trump in January in Davos to resolve global conflicts, the Board of Peace is set to meet for the first time on February 19 in Washington. The meeting is expected to focus on implementing the second phase of the peace process in Gaza and raising money for the reconstruction of the war-torn coastal strip.
It is unlikely that Israel will withdraw its troops from Gaza before Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups lay down their arms.
Israel also considers the extensive tunnel system built by Hamas under the Gaza Strip as part of the Islamists’ military infrastructure. According to Israeli media reports, Israel’s army is also preparing for the resumption of war in the Gaza Strip if Hamas continues to refuse disarmament.
Without demilitarization, it will be difficult for Trump’s new Board of Peace to implement the next steps of its 20-point plan, the New York Times reported.
Many in Europe oppose the new Board of Peace, fearing it is a competitor to the United Nations. Contrary to initial expectations, it is not a body solely dedicated to overseeing the Gaza peace process.
