JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥� Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against and a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship.
The meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has and ahead of midterm elections this November.
The two leaders also plan to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.
鈥淲e have a little difference,鈥� Trump said Monday when asked by reporters if he and the Israeli prime minister were on the same page with Iran. 鈥淏ut pretty close, yeah.鈥�
Trump and Netanyahu’s relationship has ebbed before
Trump has had a over the years, but upon his return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than ever. When they started the war together in February, it was with a united front, touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out Iran鈥檚 leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West.
But as Iran fought back 鈥� sending drones and missiles slamming into U.S. bases and high-rises in cities in the Gulf, and choking off the Strait of Hormuz 鈥� Trump came under immense pressure both at home and by allies in the region to end the conflict.
Since then, Netanyahu, who wanted to continue the fighting in Iran and against its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has been sidelined as Trump sought a deal with Tehran. His visit to the White House this week comes as the disagreements with Trump and Vice President JD Vance have burst into the open over the war in Iran and more.
鈥淭he Americans are making it clear to the Israelis they are the ones who are running the war,鈥� Israeli journalist and political analyst Amit Segal wrote Monday in the daily newspaper, Israel Hayom. 鈥淚t is clear to everyone that Israel has been put in the back seat.鈥�
Netanyahu keeping focus on Iran’s nuclear program
With U.S.-Iran tensions flaring again in recent weeks, Netanyahu plans to share with Trump Israeli intelligence on Tehran鈥檚 nuclear program, according to a person familiar with Netanyahu鈥檚 visit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
On Fox 91欧美激情 Channel鈥檚 鈥淪unday Morning Futures鈥� with Maria Bartiromo, Netanyahu said he hoped to sit down with Trump 鈥渢o hear what he has in mind鈥� for Iran.
鈥淏ecause I think, in many ways, it鈥檚 his decision鈥� on how to move forward, Netanyahu said. 鈥淚f he can do so without returning to intense military fighting, that鈥檚 fine. Why not?
“But one way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program,鈥� he said of Iran.
Netanyahu also used the interview to warn Iran against attacking his country, saying Israel鈥檚 response would be 鈥渧ery forceful.鈥�
Steps to allow other forces in Gaza and in Lebanon
But even as Netanyahu sees an opportunity, he also needs to persuade Trump that he won鈥檛 play spoiler to U.S. diplomatic and reconstruction efforts in Gaza and in Lebanon, where the president has previously complained that 鈥渢oo many people are being killed鈥� by Israeli strikes.
Israel has taken recent steps in both places.
In Lebanon, where the Israeli military occupies much of the south, Israel agreed to allow the Lebanese army to deploy to some villages as part of a 鈥減ilot program鈥� testing their ability to secure areas where Hezbollah once operated. The U.S. State Department said Monday the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place next week in Rome with a focus on expanding the program.
On Gaza, Israel鈥檚 security cabinet green-lit on Sunday a measure that would, in theory, grant entry to the first members of an international stabilization force outlined last year in a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Few countries have pledged troops for the force, however, and Israel would approve their entry into Gaza on a case-by-case basis.
The troops 鈥� including from Morocco and Uganda 鈥� would only be allowed to operate in a small, desolate area in Rafah in the south, where the plan is to vet and house some displaced Palestinians.
The Israeli military continues to carry out strikes it says target militants but that have also killed civilians.
Support for Israel has eroded
Israel has lost a significant amount of bipartisan support in the United States, particularly over its conduct in Gaza.
In June, Vance warned Israeli officials that Trump was their only friend among world leaders. Vance is expected to attend the meeting with Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the plan who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
An published earlier this month found a dramatic erosion of support among American adults for Israel.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lost America. Thank you, Bibi,鈥� wrote Ben Caspit, a political commentator for Israel’s Maariv newspaper.
___ Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Darlene Superville and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed reporting.
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