Netanyahu says Iran is top agenda in meeting with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for
Washington on Monday, where he said he would meet US President Donald Trump for
their first face-to-face talks since the start of their conflict with Iran.
It will be Netanyahu's eighth
meeting with Trump since the US president returned to office, and their first
since February, shortly before Israel and the United States launched a joint
aerial campaign against Iran.
"In these complex times, you
need to act with both great determination and great wisdom. We will discuss all
the issues on the agenda, primarily Iran. Of course, our goal is to protect our
security and also to expand the circle of peace around us," Netanyahu said
in a video statement before departure.
Israel had not taken part in a two-week US bombing campaign this month that
provoked Tehran to fire on US bases in response.
Trump halted the campaign over the
weekend. Iran said it would suspend its own attacks for as long as the US pause
endures. Israel has warned Tehran that any attack would trigger a forceful
Israeli response.
Netanyahu has in recent weeks
acknowledged that he and Trump have had some differences, as Israeli and US
interests in the region appeared to diverge.
An acrimonious phone call in June,
in which the president called the prime minister "fucking crazy",
first leaked to the media and was later publicly confirmed by Trump himself,
laid bare the strains that have at times emerged between the two leaders.
In an apparent gesture to Trump on
Sunday, Israel said it would allow a multinational security force to enter Gaza
as proposed under Trump's peace plan for the enclave.
On 21 July, Israel announced that
it had redeployed some of its forces in southern Lebanon, as part of the
US-backed agreements reached with Lebanese authorities in recent weeks.
A meeting with Trump that showcases
what has traditionally been a close relationship between the two leaders could
help Netanyahu at home, where he is facing a 27 October election and is
struggling in opinion polls.
It also comes as support for Israel
in the United States has been falling.
















