As the U.S. is in the midst of nuclear talks with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on Wednesday, according to Israeli officials.
The meeting will mark Netanyahu’s seventh meeting with President Donald Trump during the president’s second term. The leaders last met in late December at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla, where they discussed the future of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Talks between the U.S. and Iran have been ongoing in Oman since late last week, with tensions between the two nations growing.
Israel is reportedly concerned with not only Iran rebuilding its nuclear program, but also ballistic missiles and support for proxy groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
While Trump won’t commit to whether the U.S. will strike Iran for the second time in less than a year, he continues to hurl threats at the Iranian regime, citing a large armada of naval ships in the region, which has been growing.
Last week, the State Department warned Americans in the Islamic Republic to leave the country, signaling military actions are on the table if talks with Iran break down.
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was initially scheduled for the third week of February, according to multiple reports.
Last week, Trump said that Iran’s leadership “should be very worried” amid rumors that the talks had hit a snag, which was later rebuffed.
“I’m hearing that Iran wants to restart the new program. If that’s the case, we’ll send the forces to do the job again. They tried to go back to the site, but they couldn’t access it. We discovered that they wanted to open a nuclear site in another part of the country. I said, ‘You do that – we’ll do very bad things to you,"” Trump told NBC News.
The president insists Operation Midnight Hammer, when the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear sites in June, was a necessary step in pursuing peace in the Middle East.
“If we didn’t take out that nuclear, we wouldn’t have peace in the Middle East, because the Arab countries could’ve never done that. They were very afraid of Iran. They’re not afraid of Iran anymore,” Trump added.
During a press conference at the State Department last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared less optimistic that the U.S. and Iran could reach a deal.
“If the Iranians want to meet, we’re ready…I’m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we’re going to try to find out…This is a president that always prefers a peaceful outcome to any conflict or any challenge,” said Rubio.
The talks come as a large armada of U.S. Naval ships has been and is moving closer to the Islamic Republic. Last week, the U.S. confirmed it had shot down two Iranian drones flying near the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier sailing in the region.
The president continues to cite the increasingly significant naval presence in the region, hoping to pressure the Islamic Republic to “make a deal.”
“It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like Venezuela, it is ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump previously posted on Truth Social.
The president is calling on Iran to “come to the table and negotiate a fair and equitable deal,” underscoring that the Islamic Republic cease trying to rebuild its nuclear program.
“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” Trump wrote.
Iran’s delegation to the UN hit back at the president’s warnings, pointing to the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq – indicating another war could be costly for American taxpayers and lives.
“Last time the U.S. blundered into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it squandered over $7 trillion and lost more than 7,000 American lives. Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests – BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!” the Iran delegation posted on X.
