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Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is pressing for a Washington visit to meet President Trump and discuss Israeli security concerns following the US-Iran agreement.
Sources within the White House have revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to arrange a visit to Washington in the coming days to hold talks with US President Donald Trump. The discussions aim to address Israeli security interests in light of Washington's recent agreement with Tehran.
According to these sources, speaking to "Erem News," Netanyahu intends for this visit to reaffirm his continued influence with the United States regarding the Iranian dossier and to ease tensions following recent negative exchanges between the two allies.
The sources also noted that President Trump's suggestion of Syrian President Ahmad al-Shar'a confronting Hezbollah and eliminating it in Lebanon, as well as his recent statements on the matter, have deeply unsettled Netanyahu. This has led Netanyahu to interpret the message that upcoming operations against the Lebanese militia should avoid a "scorched earth" strategy.
Recently, Netanyahu called for maintaining the vital relationship with Washington after its "understanding" with Tehran. He emphasized that Israel faces additional challenges requiring steadfastness on security interests alongside preserving ties with what he described as "our American friends."
A White House insider stated that Netanyahu aims for the forthcoming meeting or call with Trump—whom he is pressing to arrange swiftly through influential contacts within the US administration and the Republican Party—to establish new arrangements for an upcoming Israeli military operation against Hezbollah. Netanyahu seeks to retain control over this front.
The same source explained to "Erem News" that Trump will impose conditions on Netanyahu, including avoiding targeting civilian areas and ensuring the operation effectively dismantles as much of Hezbollah's capabilities as possible if Israel proceeds with new military actions in Lebanon. The focus should be exclusively on the organization and its assets.
The source added that Trump will not approve a large-scale Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah without reviewing its details and following a certain phase of upcoming negotiations with Tehran.
According to the insider, holding such a meeting soon will be highly significant for Netanyahu's electoral prospects and will prevent the Israeli opposition from exploiting apparent disagreements between him and Trump.
The source further stated that Netanyahu's broad strikes in Lebanon, which did not concentrate on Hezbollah's military arsenal and sites threatening Israel, disrupted Trump's negotiation plans with Iran. Washington might have secured better terms in the memorandum of understanding had Tel Aviv refrained from these actions. The Republican president is keen to avoid a repeat of this, especially during the initial stages of forthcoming talks with Tehran.
Earlier, Trump publicly issued a rare criticism of Israel's military tactics in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah fighters, stating, "It is not necessary to bomb entire residential buildings to pursue fighters."
Nonetheless, the US president spoke of his strong relationship with the Israeli prime minister, describing Netanyahu as "a great person, but sometimes he rushes too much," according to his own words.
