Netanyahu to push Trump to take harder line on Iran missiles in White House talks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu had been expected to head to Washington for a Feb 19 meeting, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will push US President Donald Trump on Feb 11 to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran, after rushing to Washington to stiffen Mr Trump’s resolve.
Mr Trump said on the eve of the hastily arranged White House meeting – set to begin at 11am local time (midnight on Feb 12, Singapore time) – that he was weighing sending a second US “armada” to the Middle East to pressure Tehran to reach a nuclear deal.
But Mr Netanyahu, making his sixth visit to the US since Mr Trump took office, will also be urging the US leader to take a harder line on arch-foe Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman
On Feb 11, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would “not yield to excessive demands” on its nuclear programme, but that it is not seeking an atomic weapon.
“We are not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. We have stated this repeatedly and are ready for any verification,” Mr Pezeshkian said.
Mr Netanyahu had been expected to head to Washington for a Feb 19 meeting of Mr Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded.
What does Mr Trump think?
Mr Netanyahu, who was already in town on the night of Feb 10, met Mr Trump’s Middle East envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
They “discussed regional issues, and they provided an update on the first round of negotiations they held with Iran last Friday (Feb 6)”, according to a statement on the Israeli Prime Minister’s X social media account.
While talking up hopes of a nuclear deal, Mr Trump warned in an interview with the Axios news outlet on Feb 10 that he was “thinking” of sending a second aircraft carrier strike group
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Mr Trump told Axios. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
Mr Trump, who ordered US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June 2025, separately told Fox Business that any deal would have to involve “no nuclear weapons, no missiles”.
He added that Iran’s leaders “want to make a deal” but “it’s got to be a good deal”, saying Tehran had been “very dishonest with us over the years”.
What are Mr Netanyahu’s goals?
Mr Netanyahu said as he left for Washington his talks would “first and foremost” be about the Iran negotiations, while adding that they would also discuss Gaza and other regional issues.
“I will present to the President our views regarding the principles for the negotiations,” he said in a video statement before his departure. Mr Netanyahu’s office said he would highlight Iran’s missile arsenal.
Israel’s concerns came to a head during their unprecedented war in 2025, during which Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles at Israeli territory, striking both military and civilian areas.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the scope of its talks with the United States beyond the issue of its nuclear programme, though Washington also wants Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for regional militant groups on the table.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, speaking during a visit to Australia, said he hoped the talks would help fight Iran’s “empire of evil”.
What about the West Bank?
The meeting will also come amid growing international outrage over Israeli measures to tighten control of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners.
Israel’s security Cabinet approved the move ahead of Mr Netanyahu’s Washington visit. It is unclear whether the US President will address it.
A US official said on Feb 9 that Mr Trump “does not support Israel annexing the West Bank” and wants stability, while holding off from directly criticising the Israeli government’s moves.
How many meetings?
The meeting on Feb 11 will be the sixth encounter between the two leaders on US soil since Mr Trump returned to office in January 2025 – five times at the White House and once at the Republican’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
A seventh meeting took place in Jerusalem in October when Mr Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza. AFP
