President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Tuesday amid growing tensions between the two leaders, coming five months after they jointly launched a military campaign against Iran. The meeting, which was not guaranteed until shortly before it took place, reflected an increasingly complex and strained relationship between the United States and Israel over their shared confrontation with Iran.
Officials and individuals familiar with the discussions said the Trump administration had conditioned the meeting on Netanyahu demonstrating a willingness to move forward with U.S.-brokered peace negotiations in Lebanon and Gaza. Ahead of the encounter, Trump appeared frustrated with Israel's public efforts to pressure Washington to continue the campaign against Iran, downplaying the significance of an Iranian site known as Pickaxe Mountain, which recent Israeli intelligence had highlighted.
The hourlong session concluded with Netanyahu describing the conversation as one of the best he had ever held with Trump. A senior White House official echoed this sentiment, acknowledging a strong relationship between the two leaders and commending Israel for its role in helping to hinder Iran’s nuclear development capabilities. However, neither side provided clarity on the administration’s immediate strategy toward Iran or Israel’s role in it going forward.
Netanyahu, who has faced growing political challenges both domestically and within the U.S. political arena, had sought the meeting for months. His influence appeared diminished compared to previous visits, a situation compounded by the recent death of Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally who had served as an intermediary between the two leaders. Netanyahu’s standing within Republican circles has weakened, with some lawmakers expressing opposition to his approach, and Democrats increasingly critical, especially regarding the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
In order to secure Trump’s audience, Netanyahu agreed to withdraw Israeli forces from designated "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, where Lebanese armed forces have been deploying to test their ability to maintain security. He also committed to permitting members of the Trump-led Board of Peace to enter Gaza after several months of stalled movement.
Netanyahu did not respond to requests for comment following the meeting. Later on Tuesday, he attended Senator Graham’s funeral at the National Cathedral, where he was seen engaging with senior officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had also met with Trump that day. At the funeral, Fox News host Sean Hannity referred to Graham as Israel’s greatest friend, a remark acknowledged by Netanyahu and his wife in the audience.
The last meeting between Trump and Netanyahu prior to this one occurred in February, shortly before the joint U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iranian targets commenced. At that meeting, Netanyahu and a former chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency presented Trump with plans aimed at toppling the Iranian regime.