PM Netanyahu after Trump meeting: Iran deal must go beyond nuclear issue
“If an agreement is indeed reached, then it must include the elements that are very important to Israel,” Netanyahu said, citing Iran’s ballistic missiles and regional proxies as key concern
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expressed deep skepticism about any potential agreement with Iran during talks with US President Donald Trump, concluding what he described as a “short but important” diplomatic visit to Washington.
Speaking before his flight back to Israel, Netanyahu characterized his discussions with Trump as candid and wide-ranging, what he calls a “very close, very real and very open relationship” between the two leaders.
According to Netanyahu, negotiations with Iran were at the center of the talks. He said Trump believes Tehran has come to understand the consequences of past decisions, particularly its failure to reach an agreement previously, and that current U.S. pressure could create conditions for a new deal.
“The president thinks that the Iranians have already learned who they are dealing with,” Netanyahu said, adding that Trump believes those conditions “may be that the conditions will be created to reach a good agreement.”
Netanyahu told reporters that Trump sought his views on the matter, prompting the Israeli leader to outline Israel’s longstanding concerns. “I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism about the nature of any agreement with Iran,” he said.
He stressed that any future deal would need to go beyond Iran’s nuclear program to address other key issues. “It is not only the nuclear issue,” Netanyahu said. “It is also the ballistic missiles and it is also the Iranian proxies.”
Netanyahu added that while Iran dominated the conversation, the talks also touched on the situation in Gaza and broader regional developments.
He concluded by praising Trump as “a great friend of the State of Israel,” saying the meeting marked another significant exchange between the two leaders.