Netanyahu Praises Trump Meeting on War 07/29 06:15

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had an 
"excellent" meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, 
their first sit-down since launching a joint war against Iran and it offered 
Netanyahu a chance to smooth out strains in their relationship.

   The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was "positive 
and productive," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Trump, in a 
social media posting several hours after the talks, called it a "very good 
meeting" where "many important subjects were discussed" but offered no further 
details.

   The face-to-face talks come as both leaders face growing pressures at home. 
Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his 
deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an 
unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of 
midterm elections this November.

   Later on Tuesday, Iran shattered a brief period of calm in the war by 
launching multiple ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East, the 
U.S. military said, adding that all of the Iranian missiles were successfully 
intercepted.

   An Israeli official briefed on the White House meeting said Netanyahu made 
it clear to Trump and his Cabinet that if Iran were to attack Israel, they 
would respond, but that beyond that, they would trust the judgment of the 
president regarding next steps. The official spoke on the condition of 
anonymity to share details of a private meeting.

   Despite signs of tension between the two before the meeting, Netanyahu was 
effusive afterward in a post on Instagram, noting that the meeting included 
Trump's "entire senior team."

   Vice President JD Vance, who has had critical words for Israel and in June 
warned Israeli officials that Trump was their only friend among world leaders, 
was among those in the meeting.

   "When I say excellent, I don't mean it in a superficial way," Netanyahu said 
in Hebrew. "A conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an 
understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear 
weapons, and other goals as well."

   Netanyahu later joined Vance and Trump at a funeral for Sen. Lindsey Graham, 
where the Israeli leader was seen speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr 
Zelenskyy, who met with Trump earlier in the day.

   Trump expresses some frustration with Netanyahu before sitdown

   Trump revealed some tension with Netanyahu ahead of their meeting, 
complaining about reports that the Israeli leader planned to discuss 
intelligence on Iranian activities at Pickaxe Mountain, a potential nuclear 
site that the U.S. president has threatened repeatedly to bomb.

   "I know exactly what's going on at Pickaxe," Trump told "Fox & Friends." He 
insisted that whatever Iran is doing is "not a big problem" and that "Bibi's 
telling me that because he wants me to stay involved."

   "Why do you have to announce to the world?" Trump added, flashing his 
frustrations with his ally.

   The Israeli official said that Netanyahu reiterated to Trump during the 
meeting that Israel will always share its intelligence with the U.S. but that 
it also understands that Washington has its own timeline and considerations to 
factor in, including other allied countries in the region that would be 
affected if Washington were to escalate militarily.

   Trump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years, but upon 
his return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than 
ever. When they started the war together in February, it was with a united 
front, touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out 
Iran's leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West.

   But as Iran fought back -- sending drones and missiles slamming into U.S. 
bases and high-rises in cities in the Gulf, and choking off the Strait of 
Hormuz -- Trump came under immense pressure both at home and by allies in the 
region to end the conflict.

   Netanyahu has been deferential to Trump on next steps with Iran

   Since then, Netanyahu, who wanted to continue the fighting in Iran and 
against its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has been sidelined as Trump sought a 
deal with Tehran. Disagreements with Trump and Vance have burst into the open 
over the war in Iran and more.

   "The Americans are making it clear to the Israelis they are the ones who are 
running the war," Israeli journalist and political analyst Amit Segal wrote 
Monday in the daily newspaper Israel Hayom. "It is clear to everyone that 
Israel has been put in the back seat."

   Of Trump, Netanyahu said Sunday that "many ways, it's his decision" on how 
to move forward. "If he can do so without returning to intense military 
fighting, that's fine. Why not?"

   "But one way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program," 
Netanyahu told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" 
about Iran.

   The Israeli official said the two leaders also discussed the framework 
agreement that the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the 
Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which have Arab 
and Muslim-majority nations normalize ties with Israel.

   Steps to allow other forces in Gaza and in Lebanon

   Netanyahu also needed to persuade Trump that he won't play spoiler to U.S. 
diplomatic and reconstruction efforts in Gaza and Lebanon, where the president 
has previously complained that "too many people are being killed" by Israeli 
strikes.

   In Lebanon, where the Israeli military occupies much of the south, Israel 
agreed to allow the Lebanese army to deploy to some villages as part of a 
"pilot program" testing its ability to secure areas where Hezbollah once 
operated. The U.S. State Department says the next round of talks between Israel 
and Lebanon will take place next week in Rome with a focus on expanding the 
program.

   On Gaza, Israel's security cabinet green-lit on Sunday a measure that would, 
in theory, grant entry to the first members of an international stabilization 
force outlined last year in a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal between Israel and 
Hamas.

   Few countries have pledged troops, however, and Israel would approve their 
entry into Gaza on a case-by-case basis. The troops -- including from Morocco 
and Uganda -- would only be allowed to operate in a small, desolate area in 
Rafah in the south, where the plan is to vet and house some displaced 
Palestinians.

   The Israeli military continues to carry out strikes it says target militants 
but that have also killed civilians.

   Israel has lost a significant amount of bipartisan support in the United 
States, particularly over Gaza. An AP-NORC poll published this month found a 
dramatic erosion of support among American adults for Israel.

   Near the White House, a small group of protesters chanted, "Netanyahu, 
you're a tyrant" and "Bibi, you're not welcome here," referencing the prime 
minister's nickname.