President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a White House meeting that could take place after the president returns from next week’s NATO summit, as the two leaders have differed over Iran diplomacy and Israel’s continued military operations in Lebanon.
Trump told Axios global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid during a brief phone interview Saturday that he and Netanyahu get along well, before clarifying the relationship.
“We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” Trump said, referring to himself.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Israeli prime minister spoke with Trump on Friday to mark the United States’ 250th Independence Day, and the two leaders agreed to meet in the United States.
“During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Trump told Axios that Netanyahu had requested the meeting. He said it could occur after he returns from the NATO summit in Turkey, which is scheduled for July 7 and 8.
An Israeli official cautioned that Trump’s travel schedule could make a meeting next week difficult.
“It might take place the week after,” the official said.
The meeting would mark Trump and Netanyahu’s first face-to-face talks since February when Netanyahu outlined plans for a joint military campaign against Iran during a meeting in the White House Situation Room.
The timing could be significant for Netanyahu as he prepares for Israel’s October elections while trailing in polls cited by Axios.
The proposed visit also comes amid reported frustration with Netanyahu among some members of Trump’s inner circle following the February meeting.
“Many of Trump’s closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything,” a U.S. official told Axios.
Trump and Netanyahu have increasingly diverged over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and the risk that further escalation could derail U.S. negotiations with Iran. After Israel struck Beirut in response to Hezbollah fire and Iran subsequently launched missiles at Israel, Trump said he would call Netanyahu and urge him not to retaliate against Iran. According to multiple U.S. and Israeli media reports, Trump later intervened when Israel was preparing a much larger attack on Iran, warning Netanyahu, “Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon.” The reports said Netanyahu subsequently called off the broader operation. Days later, Trump criticized another Israeli attack on Beirut as one that “should not have happened” and reportedly asked Netanyahu, “What the fu*k are you doing?” before telling him not to conduct additional strikes.
The two leaders have also differed over Israel’s presence in southern Lebanon. Trump pushed for a ceasefire and pressed Netanyahu to accept a U.S.-brokered framework under which Israeli forces would redeploy from limited areas and the Lebanese army would deploy in their place as Hezbollah infrastructure was dismantled. Israel later demolished a major Hezbollah tunnel after the agreement was signed, while Netanyahu continued to insist that the IDF would remain in its security zone until Hezbollah was disarmed. During a July 1 visit to Israeli troops, Netanyahu declared, “We will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat has been eliminated,” reflecting the differences between Trump’s diplomatic efforts and Israel’s insistence on maintaining its military presence until it considers the threat removed.