U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday before the two leaders are due to attend the funeral of former South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham.
The meeting, which lasted about an hour, comes amid questions about the direction of the war in Iran, with Trump continuing to pursue negotiations with the Islamic Republic after suggesting last week that he was prepared to carry out a “higher level” of strikes.
In a statement after the meeting, Netanyahu said it was “was one of the best conversations I’ve had with the president of the United States.”
“I have just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump,” Netanyahu said. “When I say excellent, it’s not just lip service. It was a conversation of full partnership, of mutual support, with an understanding of the shared goal to ensure that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, and also other goals.”
Trump stated that it was a “very good meeting,” during which “obviously, many important subjects were discussed.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu as “positive and productive.”
A senior source who accompanied Netanyahu to the White House said that Iran was the focus of discussion.
“The prime minister and president held an excellent and comprehensive discussion on the key issues of the day, first and foremost Iran,” the source said. “The leaders reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to ensuring that Iran never has nuclear weapons.”
The meeting did not include questions from the press, which have been a common feature of the past seven meetings between the two leaders in Trump’s second term.
Photos released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office show U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Steve Witkoff, one of the lead negotiators with the Iranians, in the Oval Office with Trump and Netanyahu, as well as Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Caroline Glick, Netanyahu’s international affairs adviser.
