With Hamas dismantled, Netanyahu seeks Trump’s green light to strike Iran again
While talks continue in Doha over a possible Gaza ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressuring the US administration to allow Israel to strike Iran again if no nuclear agreement is reached.
TEL AVIV — US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday evening revealed possible differences of priorities between the two leaders — while Netanyahu emphasized the importance of the Iranian nuclear file, Trump and his administration highlighted the urgency of reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Doha talks ongoing
Before departing for Washington, Netanyahu acknowledged that Trump’s efforts to end Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip were among the main and most urgent items on the agenda of his Washington visit — his third to the White House since January. Even as Netanyahu and his entourage were preparing for dinner at the White House, five Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in northern Gaza, where a rising Israeli death toll is eerily reminiscent of Israel’s nearly 20-year entanglement in Lebanon starting in 1982.
Talks between Israel and Syria regarding a possible security agreement were also on the agenda for the two leaders.
