Israel's Netanyahu plans US visit for Trump meeting, Graham memorial
President Donald Trump is also meeting with Lebanon's president next week.
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Donald Trump next week and attend the memorial service for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an Israeli official told Al-Monitor.
Netanyahu plans to depart Israel on Saturday night after the end of Shabbat and arrive in Washington on Sunday, the official said, adding that the schedule is still being finalized.
Plans for Graham’s funeral have not been made public, but the official said a memorial service was expected Tuesday in Washington. The senator from South Carolina, who died Saturday at 71, was among Israel’s strongest backers on Capitol Hill and was a staunch advocate of the US-Israeli war against Iran. In a statement after Graham's death, Netanyahu said, "Israel has lost one of its greatest friends."
Netanyahu’s expected visit comes as the ceasefire between Iran and the United States has effectively collapsed amid renewed strikes over the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran initially closed after the US and Israel launched their war on Feb. 28. A second Israeli diplomatic source said Netanyahu is expected to warn Trump against pursuing a deal with Iran that prioritizes opening the Strait of Hormuz over ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The Netanyahu-Trump meeting on Monday would come a day before Trump hosts Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House — the first such visit by a Lebanese head of state since 2009.
After a ceasefire was reached in April, Trump invited both leaders to Washington for peace talks. Aoun has ruled out meeting Netanyahu before an agreement is fully reached to end the war. On March 2, Hezbollah fired on Israel in solidarity with Iran, triggering Israeli airstrikes and a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Lebanese and Israeli officials concluded a sixth round of US-brokered talks in Rome focused on implementing a framework agreement that calls for the phased withdrawal of the Israeli military from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah. Two areas in southern Lebanon have been designated as "pilot zones."
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a State Department official said in a statement Wednesday that the two-day talks were “positive and productive.”
“We agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process to be finalized and implemented in the coming days,” the official said. “We will now move to expanded technical talks.”
