American President Donald Trump met on Tuesday July 28 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a meeting described as “positive” by both parties, allowing them to form a united front against Iran.
In a video broadcast after the meeting by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister assured that he had had “the best conversation” with Donald Trump, explaining that the meeting had focused in particular on their “common objective: to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons”. “It was an extremely positive meeting,” a source close to Benjamin Netanyahu previously added.
For its part, the White House welcomed a “positive and constructive meeting” on X. However, the closed-door interview, which lasted around an hour and a half and after which the participants had no exchange with the press, does not dispel the impression of differences between them.
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It was their first meeting since the start of the war in the Middle East, and their eighth since Donald Trump’s return to power. Washington says it wants to give diplomacy with Iran another chance, after two weeks of unprecedented bombing since the April ceasefire.
Israel, which jointly launched with the United States the offensive on Tehran on February 28 which triggered the regional war, did not take part in the last wave of clashes in July.
A “critical moment for the Middle East”
Upon his arrival in Washington on Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu participated in a dinner organized in memory of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11, his office said. He also attended her funeral Tuesday afternoon, alongside President Trump.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit comes at a “critical moment for the Middle East” as Iran continues to “prioritize terrorism over negotiations” and block the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said earlier Tuesday. It also comes as the Prime Minister is seeking a new mandate, during the legislative elections on October 27, and the latest polls show him in difficulty.
Relations between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu deteriorated significantly in April, during negotiations on a first ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, with Donald Trump sharply attacking his Israeli ally, accused of obstructing diplomatic efforts.
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The American president notably described Benjamin Netanyahu as a “very difficult guy”. The Prime Minister had conceded “tactical disagreements”, while ensuring that he shared the same objectives in the war with his American counterpart.
Asked Tuesday morning about reports that Iran is fortifying Kolang Mountain, where Iran is suspected of harboring a deeply buried nuclear complex, Donald Trump responded: “I don’t need Bibi (Netanyahu’s nickname, Editor’s note) to tell me that. Bibi tells me that because he wants me to stay involved.” “I know exactly what is happening in Kolang, it’s not a big problem. If we don’t reach an agreement, we will destroy it very easily,” he told Fox News before the meeting.
“The main issue is to show the whole world, Iran, but also Lebanon and other countries in particular, that there is no break or major disagreement between the United States and Israel,” Yonatan Freeman, an expert in international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told AFP.
Houthis strike Saudi oil tanker in Red Sea
Elsewhere, the Houthis said Tuesday they had targeted a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles, accusing the ship of having “violated the naval blockade” that Iran-backed Yemeni rebels say they have imposed on the kingdom.
The conflict between Iran and the United States has recently expanded to a front that has remained relatively calm since 2022, between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which militarily supports the Yemeni government opposed to the rebels.
In addition, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that the army had intercepted drones targeting oil installations in the east of the kingdom, accusing groups “linked to Iran” of having launched them from Iraq, for the second day in a row.
Despite this, oil prices continued to fall on Tuesday with the lull in hostilities in the Middle East.
With AFP
