WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Feb. 11 amid ongoing tensions with Iran over its nuclear program. This will be Netanyahu’s seventh visit since Trump took office in early 2025.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a Feb. 10 press briefing that the president will meet bilaterally with the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Tuesday night and soon after met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence.
During the meeting, Witkoff and Kushner briefed the Israeli leader on the first round of talks with Iran held in Oman on Feb. 6, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Trump recently directed a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East and has threatened new strikes on Iran if a deal can’t be reached between Washington and Tehran.
Netanyahu earlier raised concerns about the talks and stated that any negotiations with Tehran should include limitations on ballistic missiles and an end to support for the Iranian axis, which includes extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu shared with reporters what he planned to discuss with Trump.
“I will present Trump with principles for negotiations with Iran that are important not only to Israel but to everyone who wants peace and security,” he said.
In June, after Israeli forces carried out attacks on Iran, Iranian forces responded by besieging Israeli cities with days of missile salvos.
Israeli officials described the meeting with Trump as a strategy session focused on the U.S.-Iran negotiations and possible outcomes if talks fail, including a potential U.S. military strike.
On Feb. 7, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Iran’s missile programs are not up for negotiation. Araghchi was part of the Iranian delegation that attended the Oman talks.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Feb. 6, Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal very badly.”
Last month, Trump announced he had ordered a “massive fleet” to the Gulf region. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and elements of its strike group have since been redirected to the Middle East.
He’s now considering sending a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group to the region if talks fail.
“We have an armada that is heading there, and another one might be going,” Trump told Axios on Feb. 10.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough, like last time,” he said, referring to the June 2025 U.S. strikes that targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump last met with Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29 to discuss Gaza, Iran, Syria, and other issues.
“I think we came to a lot of conclusions,” Trump said after that meeting. “There’s very little difference in what we’re looking at, and where we want to be, where we want to go.”
Ryan Morgan contributed to this story.
