President Trump will sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday in their first in-person meeting since the war with Iran began in late February — a meeting that arrives at a complicated moment for both men, and for a relationship that has grown increasingly strained.
The two leaders will discuss the state of the Iran war, a framework agreement for peace in Lebanon, and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. Trump will also meet separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.
The meeting comes weeks after Axios reported — and Trump subsequently confirmed — that Trump called Netanyahu “f—ing crazy” during a heated phone call over Netanyahu’s approach to Lebanon. Trump said he was “a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.” Netanyahu, asked about the exchange, described such moments as “tactical disagreements” that the two friends “always find a way to work out.”
Asked Monday whether he and Netanyahu were on the same page regarding Iran, Trump was characteristically direct: “We have a little difference, but pretty close.” Asked about reports that he told Netanyahu what the US should or should not sell militarily, Trump added: “Nobody tells me what we should be selling and not.”
A War With Mounting Costs
The Iran war itself is grinding forward without resolution. This month, the United States carried out strikes for nearly two straight weeks while Iran struck ships and American targets across the region. Four US soldiers have been killed in recent days, bringing the total American death toll in the conflict to 18.
US weapons stockpiles are depleting, and that military commanders have in some instances allowed Iranian missiles and drones to pass through US defences to preserve munitions. The Defence Department is now requesting an additional $67 billion in supplemental Congressional funding to expand weapons production. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz disputed the severity of the supply picture, saying the US “has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be.”
Netanyahu arrives in Washington facing political difficulties at home. Support for the Iran war — which Israel and the United States launched jointly in late February — has declined among Israeli voters, and his government’s military campaign in Gaza has also seen support fall significantly in the United States. Netanyahu faces elections in October while leading the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
On Lebanon, Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that he and Trump would discuss the war’s state. On the Abraham Accords, Trump recently said Saudi Arabia must normalise relations with Israel as a condition of approving a civil nuclear deal with Riyadh. Netanyahu said on Sunday that he believes Trump was “absolutely right” to set that condition.
Trump declined when asked whether he supports Netanyahu’s re-election, describing him only as “a great wartime prime minister” and saying he was unsure about the specifics of Israeli politics.
The ICC Warrant and the New York Question
Netanyahu’s visit also comes amid renewed attention to the International Criminal Court’s 2024 arrest warrant against him, issued over allegations of crimes against humanity in connection with Israel’s war in Gaza — including claims that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant used starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally targeted civilians. Israeli officials deny the charges.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a recent video post that New York does not have the legal authority to arrest Netanyahu if he travels there for the UN General Assembly in September and called on the federal government to join the ICC and execute its warrant. Trump responded on Truth Social that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” Netanyahu said on Sunday that he intends to travel to New York for the General Assembly.
Netanyahu will also attend the memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, who died last weekend, during his US visit. “He was one of Israel’s greatest friends since its inception,” Netanyahu said of Graham.
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