Donald Trump tells Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu Iran talks must continue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Donald Trump to push for a harder line in Iran nuclear talks. Photo / Getty Images

US President Donald Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House that talks with Iran must continue, rebuffing the Israeli Prime Minister’s push for a tougher stance against Tehran.

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” Trump said on social media after their three-hour meeting.

“If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” said Trump, adding a reminder of last year’s US strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme.

Seeking to push for the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile programme to be included in any deal, Netanyahu had rushed to Washington for his seventh meeting with Trump since the US leader returned to power.

Netanyahu’s office said that during the talks with Trump the Israeli premier had “insisted on the security needs of the state of Israel in relation to the negotiations” on Iran.

Trump has hinted at US military action against Iran following Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters, but at the same time Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.

Talks had been suspended after the US strikes on Iran’s atomic sites during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last July.

What does Netanyahu want?

The White House meeting was held behind closed doors, with Netanyahu slipping in via a side entrance without receiving the traditional honour guard. Trump and Netanyahu were seen shaking hands in a photograph released by the Israeli premier’s office.

Netanyahu said as he left for Washington his talks would “first and foremost” be about the Iran negotiations, while adding they would also discuss Gaza and other regional issues.

“I will present to the President our views regarding the principles for the negotiations,” he said in a video statement. Netanyahu’s office said he would highlight Iran’s missile arsenal.

Israel’s concerns came to a head during their unprecedented war last year, during which Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles at Israeli territory, striking both military and civilian areas.

What does Trump think?

While boosting hopes of a nuclear deal, Trump has also been dialling up the threat of possible US military action against Iran.

He warned in an interview with Axios news outlet that he was “thinking” of sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region.

“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump said. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”

What does Iran say?

So far, Iran has rejected expanding its talks with the United States beyond the issue of its nuclear programme, though Washington also wants Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for regional militant groups on the table.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran would “not yield to excessive demands” on its nuclear programme.

But he insisted his country was “not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons”.

‘Board of Peace’ and West Bank

Netanyahu’s visit will also include other issues, from Gaza to the West Bank.

He officially signed on as a member of Trump’s “Board of Peace” during a meeting earlier with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Israeli PM’s office said.

The group was originally meant to oversee the Gaza ceasefire but Trump is now positioning it as a possible rival to the United Nations.

The meeting also came amid growing international outrage over Israeli measures to tighten control of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners.

-Agence France-Presse