Jetting to DC, Netanyahu says he’ll present Trump with ‘our approach’ to Iran talks

PM to meet president earlier than planned amid Israeli unease over potential direction of nuclear talks; Israeli official says PM focused on curbing nuclear and missile rearmament

Heading to Washington on Tuesday to meet with US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he planned to convey Israel’s position on US nuclear talks with Tehran during the meeting.

Before boarding Wing of Zion for his flight, Netanyahu told reporters that he will “present to the president our approach around our principles on the negotiations.”

He added that these principles are important not only for Israel, but for every country around the world “that wants peace and security.”

The prime minister was initially scheduled to head to Washington later this month to meet with Trump, but asked to move up the meeting to Wednesday in what some interpreted as a sign of anxiety over the direction the fledgling talks might take.

The two leaders will discuss “a series of topics,” including Gaza, Netanyahu said in his remarks before departing, adding that his repeated meetings with Trump are evidence of the “unique closeness” between Israel and the US, and between him and Trump personally.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel shortly before the premier was slated to take off that Netanyahu was making the trip “with the aim of influencing the negotiations with Iran.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that any agreement must not only prevent Iran from attempting to rearm itself with nuclear weapons and eliminate any possibility of uranium enrichment,” said the official, “but also restrict ballistic missiles and ensure the cessation of support and funding for terrorism by the Axis of Evil.”

On Monday, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu decided to move up his meeting with Trump in order to deliver an in-person briefing on Israel’s latest intelligence regarding Iran.

According to the outlet, which cited a source close to the premier, Netanyahu will deliver the same briefing to Trump that he gave US special envoy Steve Witkoff when he visited Israel last week.

He is choosing to deliver it himself to ensure Trump receives all the information accurately, the report said. The briefing will cover the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as its support for terror proxies in the region and the brutal suppression of recent anti-regime protests.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the seventh between the two veteran leaders since Trump’s return to office in early 2025, and the sixth to take place in the US. Netanyahu last met with Trump in December at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He is slated to return to Israel early Friday morning.

The Gaza ceasefire is also a likely focus of the White House meeting.

The October US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza is in its second phase, which calls for the demilitarization of the territory, including the disarmament of Hamas, along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.

However, senior Hamas leaders — including Khaled Mashaal on Sunday — continue to state publicly that the terror group will neither surrender its weapons nor accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against US and Israeli demands.

Israel has warned it could renew its military campaign in the enclave if Hamas does not disarm.

Talks under military threat

Senior Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman last week that both sides painted as positive. In parallel, the US has been steadily building up military assets in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East that could be used in a strike on the Islamic Republic.

Weeks after repressing a wave of internal protests with a deadly crackdown in which many thousands were reported killed, following one of the greatest challenges to the regime’s authority since it came to power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Tehran has taken a two-track approach.

It is rounding up and jailing perceived critics, while at the same time pursuing a potential diplomatic opening with the Trump administration. On Monday, it floated possible concessions on its stockpile of enriched uranium, but has refused to discuss its ballistic missiles or support for terrorist groups across the Middle East.

Iran has signaled it could come to some kind of deal to dial back its nuclear program to avoid further conflict with Washington. The official IRNA news agency reported that Iranian atomic agency chief Mohammad Eslami had said Tehran could dilute its highly enriched uranium in return for sanctions relief.

“In response to a question about the possibility of diluting 60 percent enriched uranium,” IRNA reported, Eslami “said this depends on whether all sanctions would be lifted in return.”

Washington has demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile — estimated last year by the UN nuclear agency at more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) — of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.

Ali Larijani, a close adviser to Khamenei and secretary of Iran’s national security council, will visit Oman on Tuesday following the US-Iranian talks that were held there last week, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

“During this trip, [Larijani] will meet with high-ranking officials of the Sultanate of Oman and discuss the latest regional and international developments and bilateral cooperation at various levels,” Tasnim said.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Before the 12-day war between the countries last June, Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.

The date and venue of the next round of talks have yet to be announced. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that a new round of talks would be “an appropriate opportunity for a fair and balanced resolution of this case,” and that a desired outcome could be reached if the US avoids maximalist positions and respects its commitments.

Iran would continue to demand the lifting of sanctions and insist on its nuclear rights, including enrichment, he said.

Iran and the US held five rounds of talks last year on curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, with the process breaking down mainly due to disputes over uranium enrichment inside Iran. The US then struck Iranian nuclear facilities at the end of the Israel-Iran war.

Since Trump struck Iran’s facilities, Tehran has said it has halted enrichment activity.

Agencies contributed to this report.