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U.S. President Donald Trump will welcome Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Wednesday for their seventh meeting in just under 13 months, with the Israeli prime minister expected to urge a tougher and broader American approach in negotiations with Iran.
Reuters cited that the talks come days after US and Iranian officials held nuclear discussions in Oman, described by both sides as positive, with further rounds anticipated.
Israel fears Washington may settle for a limited agreement focused solely on Tehran’s nuclear programme, leaving its ballistic missile arsenal and support for regional proxy groups untouched.
“I will present to the president our perceptions of the principles in the negotiations,” Netanyahu told reporters before departing for the United States.
Trump has threatened military strikes if diplomacy fails, while Tehran has vowed retaliation, heightening concerns of a wider regional conflict.
In a series of media interviews on Tuesday, the president said he believed Iran wanted an agreement but warned he would do “something very tough” if it refused.
He told Axios he was considering dispatching a second aircraft carrier strike group as part of a substantial US military build-up near Iran.
Israel remains wary that any deal might not address what it regards as core security threats, including Iran’s missile capabilities and its backing of armed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
According to individuals familiar with the matter, the two leaders may also discuss potential joint military options should negotiations collapse.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that talks would need to encompass Iran’s missile programme, its support for proxy forces and its domestic conduct.
Tehran, however, has ruled out restrictions on its missiles and said the Oman discussions were confined to nuclear issues.
Trump has sent mixed signals on whether negotiations should be expanded.
He told Axios it was a “no-brainer” for any agreement to cover Iran’s nuclear activities, adding that he also believed it possible to address missile stockpiles.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
The United States and Israel have long accused it of seeking nuclear weapons capability.
Last June, Washington joined Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during a 12-day conflict that also severely damaged Iran’s air defences and missile arsenal.
Two Israeli officials said there were now signs Tehran was attempting to rebuild those capabilities, a development Israel views as a strategic threat.
Beyond Iran, Gaza is set to feature prominently in Wednesday’s discussions. Mr Trump is pressing ahead with a ceasefire framework he helped broker, centred on a 20-point plan aimed at ending the war and reconstructing the devastated Palestinian territory.
Progress has stalled, with major differences persisting over key provisions, including the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces and the disarmament of Hamas.
“We continue to work closely with our ally Israel to implement President Trump’s historic Gaza peace agreement and to strengthen regional security,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said when asked about US priorities for the meeting.
Netanyahu’s visit, initially scheduled for 18 February, was brought forward amid renewed US engagement with Iran.
After arriving in Washington on Tuesday evening, he met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who led the American delegation at the Oman talks, according to Israel’s ambassador to Washington.
Although Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu have largely been aligned, potential tensions remain. Elements of the president’s Gaza plan hold out the prospect of eventual Palestinian statehood — a position long resisted by Netanyahu and his coalition, the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
At the weekend, Israel’s security cabinet authorised measures to ease land purchases by settlers in the occupied West Bank and expand Israeli authority in territory Palestinians envisage as the core of a future state. The move drew international condemnation.
“I am against annexation,” Trump was quoted as telling Axios. “We have enough things to think about now.”
Tehran’s regional influence has been weakened by Israel’s military campaign last June, by sustained blows to Iranian-backed groups including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, and by the ousting of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a close Iranian ally.
Nonetheless, Israeli officials remain cautious, concerned that a diminished Iran and its proxies may seek to rebuild after heavy losses in the multi-front conflict triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel. - February 11, 2026