Netanyahu to meet Trump in Washington, discuss Iran talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US President Donald Trump, with a focus on the ongoing Iran-US negotiations, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.

In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said the two leaders would discuss “the negotiations with Iran,” stressing that Netanyahu believes any agreement must impose strict limits on Iran’s ballistic missile programme and ensure an end to Tehran’s support for what Israel describes as the Iranian axis across the region.

The announcement comes days after Iranian and US delegations held indirect talks in Oman on Friday, marking the first round of negotiations between the two sides since last year’s escalation in tensions. Trump described the Oman talks as “very good”, adding that Iran “looks like it wants to make a deal very badly”, and said further discussions were planned for early next week.

According to reports, the talks appeared to bring both sides back to the starting point on how to frame negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, with key differences remaining unresolved.

The renewed diplomatic engagement follows a dramatic downturn in relations after Israel struck Iran in June last year, triggering a 12-day conflict during which the United States bombed key Iranian nuclear facilities, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump and Netanyahu last met in December. There was no immediate comment from the White House on the upcoming visit.

Trump has repeatedly warned that the US could use force to pressure Iran into a nuclear deal, even as Washington bolstered its military presence in the region by deploying the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships. The show of force came amid heightened tensions with Tehran, including a crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran that reportedly left thousands dead.

With IANS inputs