US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested a meeting with him at the White House.
Trump suggested that the meeting would take place next week after his return from the NATO summit in Türkiye on July 7 and 8.
Axios quoted Trump as saying that Netanyahu “knows who is in charge.”
He noted that the meeting would be their first since their meeting last February, during which Netanyahu presented a plan to launch a joint war against Iran.
Trump told the website that Netanyahu had asked him to hold a meeting at the White House, and that the meeting might take place as early as next week, after he returns from the NATO summit.
While an Israeli official indicated that holding the meeting next week might be premature due to Trump's participation in the NATO summit and his visit to Turkey, the same source suggested that the meeting would likely take place the following week.
The potential meeting comes amid growing differences between the two sides regarding the management of the war on Iran and the escalation in Lebanon, as Trump proceeded last June to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iran to extend the ceasefire and resume nuclear negotiations, despite Israel's reservations.
The US president also pressured Netanyahu to reduce military operations in Lebanon, arguing that they threaten the chances of reaching a settlement with Tehran.
Trump had warned Netanyahu against continuing attacks on Iran, suggesting that Israel might find itself “on its own,” and criticized its military escalation in Lebanon.
On June 18, Iran and the United States reached a memorandum of understanding stipulating a cessation of hostilities, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iran, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, after its closure caused a rise in oil and gas prices and inflation rates.
On the 26th of the same month, Beirut and Tel Aviv, under American auspices, reached a “framework agreement” stipulating a “sequential” Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, beginning with two pilot areas. However, this withdrawal is not subject to a timetable and is contingent upon the complete disarmament of Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Tuesday that it was postponing its withdrawal from the two experimental areas, claiming it needed to “wait until a joint monitoring mechanism is reached with Beirut.”
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