WASHINGTON: With President Donald Trump saying he believes Iran wants to make a deal on its nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to arrive at the White House on Wednesday with his own urgent message: Expand the talks further.
The visit from Netanyahu — their seventh meeting in Trump’s second term — comes as both Tehran and Washington are projecting cautious optimism after holding indirect talks in Oman on Friday about how once again to approach negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
“We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal,” Trump said in an interview Tuesday with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow. “I think they’d be foolish if they didn’t. We took out their nuclear power last time, and we’ll have to see if we take out more this time.”
He added, “It’s got to be a good deal. No nuclear weapons, no missiles.”
Netanyahu’s office has said he wants those talks to include limits on Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of those negotiations — the essential principles which, in my opinion, are important not only to Israel, but to everyone around the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said Tuesday before departing Israel.
It remains unclear how much influence Netanyahu will have over Trump’s approach toward Iran. Trump initially threatened to take military action over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in January, then shifted to a pressure campaign in recent weeks to try to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear program.
Iran’s is still reeling from the 12-day war with Israel this past June. The devastating series of airstrikes, including the U.S. bombing several Iranian nuclear sites, killed nearly 1,000 people in Iran and almost 90 in Israel.
Trump, at the time, said the U.S. action had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, though the amount of damage remains unclear. Satellite photos of nuclear sites have recently captured activity, prompting concern Iran could be attempting to salvage or assess damage at the sites.
