Trump shows irritation with Israel’s Netanyahu before White House talks on Iran
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump voiced irritation with Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of their White House meeting on July 28, complaining that details of the Israeli prime minister’s planned talking points on Iran had surfaced publicly, in a fresh sign of strain between the two leaders.
Asked about reports that Netanyahu wanted to talk to him about Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, Trump said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi’s telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”
“Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?” Trump said, in an interview with Fox & Friends.
The New York Post reported on July 27 that Netanyahu was expected to provide intelligence to Trump that Iran is building up its nuclear facilities at Pickaxe Mountain and is lying about wanting a peace deal, citing a source in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s remarks.
The US president was meeting Netanyahu after first having brief closed-door talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Relations with Zelensky have warmed as Ukraine has blunted Russian advances, while Netanyahu faces growing White House frustration over the lack of progress towards a broader settlement in the Iran conflict and criticism from some of Trump’s supporters who oppose deeper US involvement in the Middle East.
The two men are in Washington to attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Republican who was an advocate for both Israel and Ukraine in Washington, especially in getting their views heard by Trump.
Arriving in Washington earlier, Zelenksy said anti-ballistic defence and strategic cooperation with the US were the “number-one priority” for meetings with Trump and his team.
“Peace needs to be brought closer,” Zelensky said, in a post on X.
Both the Ukraine war and the widening Middle East conflict are at critical junctures. After the collapse of a ceasefire in the Iran war, Trump says he has paused US airstrikes to give diplomacy another chance. Zelensky, meanwhile, has been buoyed by Ukraine’s recent successes.
Netanyahu seeks Trump’s support for re-election
Netanyahu has run hot and cold with Trump, who at times has had to rein in the Israeli leader from attacking targets in Lebanon to try to weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
An acrimonious phone call in June in which the president called the prime minister “f***ing crazy”, first leaked to the media and later publicly confirmed by Trump himself, laid bare the strains between the two leaders.
Sources familiar with the matter said Netanyahu aims to get Trump’s support for his reelection campaign ahead of an Oct 27 vote.
A meeting with Trump that showcases what has traditionally been a close relationship between the two leaders could help Netanyahu at home where he is struggling in the opinion polls.
They are also expected to discuss the Abraham Accords, the series of agreements Trump brokered to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Trump wants to add Saudi Arabia to the accords and conditioned a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the kingdom last week on Riyadh signing up. Riyadh has so far rejected joining the accords without a path toward Palestinian statehood.
Air defence and drone deal
Zelensky and Trump clashed repeatedly in the early months of Trump’s second term, but relations between the two have improved in recent months as Ukraine has had greater success in the war, including with increased attacks on Russia’s oil industry.
Zelensky was expected to press Trump for urgently needed air defence capabilities and to complete a drone deal with the United States. The two leaders will also likely discuss Trump’s promise at the NATO summit to grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot interceptors.
After the White House meeting, Zelensky is expected to go to the US Capitol for a meeting with senators. REUTERS
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