President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “positive and productive” White House meeting as their war on Iran, a periodic source of tension between the men, reaches a pivotal stage and they confront tough election seasons.
Mr. Netanyahu described Tuesday’s meeting as one of his greatest ever with Mr. Trump.
Speaking on Instagram, the prime minister said they enjoyed “an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well.”
He added, “One of the best conversations I’ve had with the President of the United States, our friend Donald Trump.”
The men presented a united front exactly five months after their militaries launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Iran retaliated by clamping down on oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, sparking cycles of violence and peace negotiations testing Mr. Trump’s patience and forcing him to choose between diplomatic talks or harsher options.
“I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour,” Mr. Trump said on “Fox & Friends” before the Netanyahu meeting. “I could knock out all of their power plants within one day.”
He added, “They know I’m going to do that if they don’t make a deal. The bridges are gonna be gone.”
Iran responded Tuesday with tough talk of its own, saying any country or business that accepts money from its frozen assets in the U.S. and Europe would not be allowed to send its ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, Mr. Trump proposed tapping into at least $100 billion of Tehran’s frozen funds to pay for damages to commercial ships and cargo from Iran’s decision to block the strategic waterway.
Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, an Iranian military spokesman, described such a move as illegal and said there would be consequences if the proposal is implemented.
“Iran’s armed forces would deny passage through the Strait of Hormuz to vessels belonging to any company or country that accepted payments from Iran’s frozen assets,” Col. Zolfaqari said Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Also Tuesday, Kurdish opposition officials blamed Iran and its proxies for launching a wave of strikes in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. At least 14 one-way suicide drones in the barrage that began the day before caused material damage but no injuries, they said.
Mr. Trump has often characterized the Iran war as an “excursion,” initially saying it would last several weeks.
The conflict remains unpopular in U.S. polling as it drags on, and the president has battled perceptions that Mr. Netanyahu talked him into a quagmire.
Mr. Trump says he’s the one calling the shots and, on Tuesday, added that he doesn’t need guidance from Mr. Netanyahu on how to handle Pickaxe Mountain, an Iranian site linked to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Mr. Trump, speaking on Fox News, responded to media reports that Mr. Netanyahu planned to present evidence of an uptick in activity around the site.
“Why can’t you just tell me? Why’d you have to tell the world?” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Netanyahu.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that,” he said. “Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved. We have the greatest cameras in the world. We know exactly what’s going on.”
It was Mr. Netanyahu’s eighth meeting with Mr. Trump since the U.S. leader’s return to the White House, and their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the Iran war.
The leaders met ahead of tough electoral challenges in their respective countries.
U.S. Republicans hold slim majorities in the House and Senate heading into the November midterm elections, and Mr. Netanyahu will face former Israel Defense Forces chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, in Israel’s general election on Oct. 27.
Prior to meeting Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Trump got together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the war with Russia stretches deep into its fifth year.
Mr. Zelenskyy said Tuesday he spoke to Mr. Trump about his country’s air defenses against Russia and ways to restart the diplomatic process to wind down the war.
“Both meetings were positive and productive,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after Mr. Zelenskyy and then Mr. Netanyahu departed.
The conflict in Ukraine and war in Iran recently became intertwined. Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, alleging it was carrying material aid to Russian forces.
Iran reacted furiously, saying the attack was unfounded and unlawful.
“Ukraine may soon come to understand that Iran does not leave its actions unanswered. The list of those who miscalculated continues to grow,” Ebrahim Azizi, the chairman of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on social media.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, said Iran has no standing to act like an innocent victim.
“The regime in Tehran is a direct accomplice to Russian aggression against Ukraine, fueling Moscow’s criminal war with weapons that have killed Ukrainians since 2022,” Mr. Sybiha said.
Mr. Trump is pushing hard to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, which started in February 2022.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said he would give Ukraine the right to manufacture its own Patriot missiles through a U.S. license for Raytheon technology.
Ramping up production could take months, however, so Mr. Zelenskyy is trying to address urgent needs to resist Russian attacks.
“The president and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,” Mr. Zelenskyy said after his meeting with Mr. Trump. “We also spoke about diplomacy — it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated. Our teams will arrange the details of their further communication. I am grateful to the United States for its firm support.”
Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Netanyahu paid their respects Tuesday to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican and staunch supporter of Ukraine and Israel.
A group of senators announced a bipartisan agreement on Tuesday to advance legislation that would impose sanctions against Russia. The sanctions would target Russian officials, oligarchs and their family members, and Russian banks.
The legislation is named after Mr. Graham.
“We are proud to announce an agreement on legislation to stop purchasers of Russian oil and gas from fueling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine and to continue restricting the Iranian regime’s ability to support terrorism and build its nuclear program,” the senators said. “There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham’s legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement, and we look forward to today’s vote.”
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