By Miriam Humbe
President of the United States, Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday in their first in-person talks since the United States and Israel launched joint military operations against Iran on February 28.
The White House described the meeting as “positive and productive.”
Netanyahu said shortly after the meeting: “It was a meeting with full cooperation, with mutual support, with understanding on the joint goal that Iran won’t have nuclear weapons, and also other goals.”
“It was one of the best conversations I’ve had with our friend, US President Trump,” Netanyahu said,.
He described it as: “An opportunity to exchange ideas, and also to coordinate on things that are important for the security and for the future of Israel.”
The closed-door meeting lasted nearly 90 minutes and focused primarily on Iran and its nuclear program, according to statements released by the two governments after the talks.
“Both meetings were positive and productive,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media, also referring to Trump’s closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier in the day.
Neither the White House nor Netanyahu’s office immediately released additional details.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump dismissed reports that Netanyahu would present new intelligence on Iran’s suspected nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain, saying he was already fully aware of developments there.
“I don’t need Bibi (Netanyahu) to tell me that,” Trump told Fox News in an interview, “Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”
“We took out their nuclear sites, and we’ll have to take out Pickaxe if we don’t make a deal,” Trump warned again.
The meeting came as the two leaders seek to coordinate their approach toward Iran while facing political pressure at home over their handling of the conflict.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
