Symbolic imageTrump and Netanyahu meet at the White House with Iran at the centre
US President Donald Trump received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, 28 July, in a meeting closed to reporters that both governments called positive and productive. Iran dominated the talks, and both sides said they reaffirmed that Tehran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Hours earlier, Israel's defence minister said Washington is not approving Israeli strikes on Iranian energy facilities.
What happened
Trump hosted Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister's eighth meeting with him this term and his first since the war against Iran began on 28 February. Al Jazeera reported that no reporters were admitted and no joint press conference was scheduled; N12 put the talks at about an hour. TASS reported that photos released by Netanyahu's office showed Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and envoy Steve Witkoff among the participants. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the meeting positive and productive; Netanyahu called it one of the best conversations he has had with a US president and spoke of full partnership on keeping Iran from a nuclear weapon.
Defence Minister Israel Katz told Channel 14 that Israel wants to strike Iran's energy targets but that the United States is not approving it, citing concern that Iran would attack neighbouring states and trigger a global oil crisis.
The view from outside
Al Jazeera reported that no media were invited to the talks and that protesters gathered outside the White House against Netanyahu's meeting with Trump. Turkey's Daily Sabah, citing Reuters, reported that Trump voiced frustration with Netanyahu after details of his planned remarks on Iran leaked, quoting Trump telling Fox News he doesn't need Netanyahu ('Bibi') to brief him on the Pickaxe Mountain site because 'he wants me to stay involved.' The American Conservative reported Katz's admission that Washington is holding Israel back from striking Iran's energy targets over fears of a wider regional attack and a global oil crisis.
What could happen next
Before the meeting Trump told Fox News that Washington would take out Pickaxe Mountain "very easily" if no deal is reached, while insisting negotiations remain possible; the pause in US and Iranian strikes has held since 24 July. FAZ reports that Trump may press for Israeli pullbacks from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and that Netanyahu told his security cabinet on Sunday he would refuse; Lebanese troops have moved into two pilot zones under a US-brokered framework, and Syria's transitional president says he wants a security accord that would require an Israeli withdrawal. The American Conservative reports Brent crude at $87 a barrel and slowed traffic through Bab el-Mandeb after Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure. What follows depends on whether the Qatari, Pakistani and Omani mediation channels restart talks with Tehran or Trump orders further strikes.
United States: Trump keeps the nuclear red line but prefers a deal, withholds approval for strikes on Iranian energy sites and says he already knows what is happening at Pickaxe Mountain without Israeli briefings.
Israel: Netanyahu presents intelligence on an Iranian rearmament and wants Washington to widen the campaign, while his defence minister says Israel is prepared to hit Iran's energy infrastructure alone if needed.
Iran: No Iranian source is among the material; according to TASS, Tehran stopped its exchange of strikes with the United States on 24 July after retaliating against US facilities in six Gulf and Arab states.
Also involved