At Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu seeks Iran strike approval while Trump presses Gaza plan
US President Donald Trump is expected to push Israel to enter the second phase of his Gaza peace plan, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will focus on securing Trump’s approval for a potential strike on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
When they meet at Mar-a-Lago on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to try to convince President Donald Trump to approve a potential Israeli strike on Iran’s ballistic missile program, while the American leader will try to convince the Israeli premier to move forward with the second phase of Washington’s Gaza plan.
This will be Netanyahu's sixth meeting with Trump during his second term in office, more than any other foreign leader. Still, despite the close ties between the two countries and their leaders, Netanyahu and Trump do not see eye to eye on several regional issues.
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet first with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 10:00 a.m., followed by a meeting with Trump at 1:00 p.m. On Wednesday he will meet with leaders of the evangelical community and then leaders of the Miami Jewish community before heading back to Israel on Thursday. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu might also meet with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance.
Shared goals, diverging paths
