US President Donald Trump said yesterday after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they had not reached any "final" agreement on how to proceed with Iran, but insisted that negotiations with Tehran would continue to see if an agreement could be reached, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu, who was expected to press Trump to expand diplomacy with Iran beyond its nuclear program and to limitations on its missile arsenal, stressed that Israel's security interests must be taken into account, but gave no sign that the president had made the commitments he sought.
In their seventh meeting since Trump returned to office last year, Netanyahu, whose visit was quieter than usual and closed to the media, sought to influence the next round of US talks with Iran, following nuclear negotiations held in Oman last Friday.
The two leaders spoke behind closed doors for more than two and a half hours, in what Trump described as a "very good meeting," but he said no major decisions were made and did not publicly accept Netanyahu's pleas.
Trump has threatened strikes on Iran if a deal is not reached, while Tehran has vowed retaliation, stoking fears of a wider war as the US builds up forces in the Middle East. He has repeatedly expressed support for a secure Israel, a long-time US ally and Iran's arch-foe.
In media interviews on Tuesday, Trump repeated his stark warning to Iran, claiming he believed Tehran wanted a deal.
"Nothing definitive has been achieved, except that I have insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see if a deal can be made. If it can, I have let the Prime Minister know that would be preferable," Trump wrote in a social media post after his meeting with Netanyahu.
"If it can't, we'll just have to see what the outcome is," Trump added, noting that the last time Iran decided against the deal, the US targeted Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
Trump says no to Iranian nuclear weapons, missiles
Trump said in an interview with Fox Business, broadcast on Tuesday, that a good deal with Iran would mean "no nuclear weapons, no missiles," without going into details.
He also told Axios that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group as part of a major US buildup near Iran.
Israel fears the United States could seek a narrow nuclear deal that does not include restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program or an end to Iranian support for armed proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, according to people familiar with the matter. Israeli officials have urged the United States not to trust Iranian promises.
Iran has rejected such demands and says the talks in Oman focused only on nuclear issues.
"The prime minister emphasized the security needs of the State of Israel in the context of the negotiations, and the two agreed to continue their close coordination and close contact," Netanyahu's office said in a statement after the talks on Wednesday.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss possible military action if diplomacy with Iran fails, one source said.
Iran has said it is ready to discuss limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
"The Islamic Republic's missile capabilities are not subject to negotiation," Ali Shamkani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu's arrival at the White House was more subdued than usual. The two leaders were shown shaking hands in a photo released by the Israeli embassy. But, unlike Netanyahu's previous visits to Trump, the press corps was not allowed into the Oval Office. It was not immediately clear why he was given such low-profile treatment.
Gaza on the agenda
Gaza was also on the agenda, with Trump keen to push through the ceasefire deal he helped broker. Progress on his 20-point plan to end the war and rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory has stalled, with wide differences over steps such as disarming Hamas while Israeli troops withdraw in phases.
"We talked about the tremendous progress being made in Gaza, and the region in general," Trump said after the meeting.
Netanyahu's visit, originally scheduled for February 18, has been postponed due to renewed US engagement with Iran. Both sides said at a meeting in Oman last week that the talks had been positive and that further talks were expected soon.
Trump has been vague about expanding the talks. Axios quoted him as saying on Tuesday that it was "obvious" that any deal would cover Iran's nuclear program, but that he considered it possible that Iran's missile stockpile could also be touched.
Iran claims its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, while the US and Israel have accused it of previous attempts to develop nuclear weapons.
During the 12-day war last June, Israel severely damaged Iran's air defenses and missile arsenal. Two Israeli officials say there are signs that Iran is working to rebuild those capabilities.
Trump threatened to intervene militarily last month during a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, but ultimately backed down.
Israel wary of the revival of a weakened Iran
Tehran's regional influence has been weakened by the Israeli attack in June, the losses suffered by its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, as well as the overthrow of its ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But Israel is wary that its opponents do not recover from the multi-front war that was triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
Although Trump and Netanyahu have been largely in sync and the US remains Israel's main arms supplier, they appear to be at odds over another key issue.
Part of Trump's plan for Gaza leaves open the possibility of eventual Palestinian statehood, which Netanyahu and his coalition, the most right-wing in Israel's history, have long opposed.
Netanyahu's security cabinet on Sunday approved steps that would make it easier for Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land, while giving Israel broader authority in what Palestinians see as the core of a future state.
The decision sparked international condemnation, and Trump reiterated his opposition to annexing the West Bank on Tuesday.
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