WASHINGTON, Feb 12 – US President Donald Trump said he insisted talks with Iran continue during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but warned he may take action against Tehran if a nuclear deal is not reached.
The leaders met at the White House as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East and negotiations intensify over curbing Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.
Netanyahu was expected to press Trump to pursue a deal that would not only halt Iran’s uranium enrichment, but cut its ballistic missile programme and support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran has suggested it is ready to limit its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, but has rejected other demands.
Ahead of the White House meeting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned his country would “not yield to their excessive demands”.
Netanyahu’s visit marks his sixth trip to the US since Trump’s return to office – more than any other world leader.
The leaders spoke for nearly three hours in an unusually low-key meeting in which Netanyahu was brought in through a side entrance, out of view of the cameras.
Trump did not hold a press conference with him afterwards.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the meeting between the leaders had been “very good”.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” he said.
He added a deal was his “preference” but if one could not be reached “we will just have to see what the outcome will be”.
Netanyahu’s office said the leaders had discussed “the security needs of the State of Israel in the context of the negotiations” and agreed to continue their “close coordination and relationship”.
A close Trump ally, Netanyahu has long argued that Iran represents an existential security threat to Israel and has pushed the US to curb Tehran’s influence in the region.
“The prime minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement ahead of his trip.
After arriving in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu met Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The pair “provided an update on the first round of negotiations they held with Iran last Friday”, according to the prime minister’s office.
Netanyahu’s visit comes as the US increases its military presence in the Middle East, with Trump warning Tehran of strikes if it fails to reach a deal on its nuclear programme and to stop killing protesters.
On Tuesday, the president said that he was “thinking” about sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was sent to the region last month after Trump threatened to strike Iran to stop a government crackdown on mass protests in which thousands of people were killed.
“We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said in an interview with Axios. He said Iran “wants to make a deal very badly”, adding that a diplomatic solution remained possible.
Trump told Fox Business that a good deal would mean “no nuclear weapons, no missiles”.
