The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was “positive and productive," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Trump, in a social media posting several hours after the talks, called it a “very good meeting” where “many important subjects were discussed” but offered no further details.
Later on Tuesday, Iran shattered a brief period of calm in the war by launching multiple ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East, the U.S. military said, adding that all of the Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.
An Israeli official briefed on the White House meeting said Netanyahu made it clear to Trump and his Cabinet that if Iran were to attack Israel, they would respond, but that beyond that, they would trust the judgment of the president regarding next steps. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of a private meeting.
Despite signs of tension between the two before the meeting, Netanyahu was effusive afterward in a post on Instagram, noting that the meeting included Trump's “entire senior team.”
Vice President JD Vance, who has had critical words for Israel and in June warned Israeli officials that Trump was their only friend among world leaders, was among those in the meeting.
“When I say excellent, I don’t mean it in a superficial way,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew. “A conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well.”
Of Trump, Netanyahu said Sunday that “many ways, it’s his decision” on how to move forward. “If he can do so without returning to intense military fighting, that’s fine. Why not?”
“But one way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program,” Netanyahu told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” about Iran.
The Israeli official said the two leaders also discussed the framework agreement that the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which have Arab and Muslim-majority nations normalize ties with Israel.
