Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington to discuss negotiations with Iran, the prime minister’s office announced in a statement on Saturday. Netanyahu had previously been scheduled to visit Washington later in the month. The statement said that “any negotiation” between the U.S. and Iran “must include limits on ballistic missiles,” rather than focusing just on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
A senior White House official told Axios that Netanyahu is the one who requested to advance the previously scheduled trip and meet with the U.S. president this week. The visit will be Netanyahu’s seventh meeting with Trump since the president began his second term, and comes as the United States and Iran resume talks over a possible nuclear agreement to avert war.
After talks between U.S. and Iranian officials on Friday, Trump signaled a willingness to accept a deal focused solely on Iran’s nuclear program, describing those discussions with Tehran as “very good talks” and confirming that another meeting is scheduled for early next week. White House officials had previously sought to broaden the scope of negotiations.
“I think a deal can be reached,” Trump said, adding that the administration was “in no rush” and had “plenty of time.” Asked whether a nuclear-only agreement that did not address other issues would be acceptable, Trump said it would, provided Iran is barred from obtaining nuclear weapons.
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“Yeah, there’s a deal that would be acceptable,” Trump said. “But the one thing right up front — no nuclear weapons.”
Trump said Iran now appears willing to accept limits it previously rejected, warning that failure to reach an agreement would carry “very steep” consequences.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said Saturday that the missile issue is “purely defensive” and “cannot be negotiated, neither now nor in the future.”
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