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United States President Donald Trump has hinted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could travel to the White House as soon as next week, in what would be his first visit since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
On Saturday, Trump told the news outlet Axios that Netanyahu had requested the meeting.
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The US president also speculated the White House rendezvous could take place after his return from the annual NATO summit, which takes place this year in Ankara, Turkiye on July ۷ and ۸.
But the meeting comes as tensions between Trump and Netanyahu have rippled into public view.
Israel has opposed efforts under the Trump administration to negotiate a ceasefire with Iran, and Trump has openly criticised Netanyahu for Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, which threaten to scuttle any negotiated deal.
In his brief telephone interview with Axios, Trump reportedly brushed aside any speculation about a rupture between the two leaders, while asserting his own authority over Netanyahu.
“We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” Trump told Axios.
The US and Israel have long been allies. The US was the first international government to recognise the Israeli state in ۱۹۴۸, and in the decades since, Israel has become the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance of any country since World War II.
In ۲۰۱۶, the US issued a memorandum pledging to give Israel $۳۸bn in military aid over the course of a decade, the largest such package of its kind, and it has continued to give Israel additional military assistance in recent years, including amid its genocidal war on Gaza.
During Trump’s second term as president, the US has also joined Israel in two wars against Iran: one in June ۲۰۲۵ and another which began on February ۲۸.
The latest conflict, however, was widely denounced as an unprovoked act of aggression, in violation of international law. Trump has also faced domestic backlash for deploying US troops without Congress’s approval.
A June ۲۴ poll from Quinnipiac University, for instance, found that ۶۰ percent of US voters felt the war against Iran was “not worth it”, compared to only ۳۴ percent who said they approved of the conflict.
In the same survey, ۴۸ percent of respondents said the US is too supportive of Israel.
Those numbers have coincided with a sagging approval rating for Trump, a grim sign as his Republican Party campaigns to retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
The Trump administration, however, has defended its involvement in the conflict by arguing it prevented Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, an aspiration the government in Tehran has long denied.
It has maintained that its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian energy purposes only.
Still, Trump and his officials have sought to wind down the war, announcing a two-week ceasefire deal on April ۸ that was extended indefinitely.
On June ۱۷, the US and Iran also signed a ۱۴-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) to suspend hostilities, though its implementation remains spotty.
Since the memo was approved, the US and Iran have exchanged fire over the passage of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel has continued to attack southern Lebanon, in violation of its terms.
Trump has expressed frustration with Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, which have spurred Iran to threaten to once again close the Hormuz Strait.
In early June, Trump confirmed to the New York Post that he called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a phone call with the Israeli leader, pointing to his actions in Lebanon.
“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Trump told the Post.
But the US has not changed policies towards Israel, and Trump emphasised to the newspaper that his relationship with Netanyahu remains strong.
“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” he said.
Should Netanyahu arrive in Washington, DC, this month, it would mark his seventh trip to the US under Trump’s second term.
No other leader of a country has made as many official visits to the US as Netanyahu has since Trump’s return to office in January ۲۰۲۵.
The last time Netanyahu visited was in February, right before Israel and the US launched their initial volley of strikes on Iran in the current conflict.
Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, remain the subjects of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. Neither the US nor Israel, however, recognise the court’s authority.
