WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for a bilateral meeting on July 28.
Netanyahu is expected to discuss concerns about Iran and share intelligence regarding Tehran’s continued ambitions to develop nuclear weapons.
Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that this meeting is significant and will likely influence the next phase of the conflict with Iran. They stated that Netanyahu will present Trump with intelligence showing Iran’s continued secret advancement of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The intelligence suggests that funds released under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Washington and Tehran could support further development of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and finance its regional proxies, the officials said.
They also noted that Netanyahu will present his position cautiously so as not to appear to be pushing Trump to resume the war. They said the meeting is intended to allow Israel to raise its concerns directly with the president without turning their disagreements into a public confrontation.
A White House official told The Epoch Times on July 27 that Trump will “discuss the conflict in Iran, progress with the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon, and expanding the Abraham Accords” during his meeting with Netanyahu.
The occasion will mark the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the start of the war with Iran in February.
Israeli officials said that before the visit, Israel took several actions in different areas to show it is making progress as agreed with the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Israel said it would allow an international security force to be deployed in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S. plan to stop the fighting. The move was approved by the security cabinet.
In addition, on July 21, Israel began redeploying some of its forces in southern Lebanon, in line with understandings reached with the Lebanese government through U.S. mediation and as part of a plan to set up so-called pilot zones.
Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that the talks between Netanyahu and Trump will cover not just Iran, but also recent events in Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.
This will be the eighth time the two leaders have met face to face during Trump’s second term in office.
“In our meeting, we will discuss all the issues on the table, with Iran at the forefront,” Netanyahu wrote in his social media post on July 27.
“Our goal is clear: to safeguard Israel’s security, strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us.”
Netanyahu also gave a preview of the July 28 meeting in a video message on Monday.
“From my experience as prime minister, during these complex times we must act with both great determination and great wisdom,” he said. “We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost, Iran.”
He described Graham as “one of Israel’s greatest friends of all time.”
