Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington on Monday and meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, with Iran expected to dominate their talks. Netanyahu will also attend the funeral of late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Israel’s most prominent supporters in Congress.
Netanyahu is expected to present Trump with updated Israeli intelligence on Iran’s efforts to rebuild its military and nuclear capabilities, including accelerated activity at Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried facility near the Natanz nuclear complex.
The site, also known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, is believed to have been constructed beneath roughly 100 meters of rock. Recent reporting has indicated that Israel believes Iran transferred thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels at the facility, though its precise status and contents remain uncertain.
With the war increasingly unpopular in the United States, Netanyahu does not want to be portrayed as pressuring Trump to resume an intensive military campaign against Iran. At the same time, the Israeli prime minister believes the Iranian government could be brought down through a series of coordinated measures, even without a return to full-scale warfare.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the broader security relationship between Washington and Jerusalem. Netanyahu wants to shift the relationship away from a model based primarily on U.S. military aid and toward a wider security partnership.
Another central objective of the visit will be repairing relations between Netanyahu and Trump, which Israeli officials believe have deteriorated in recent months following changes in Trump’s approach and several public statements critical of the prime minister.
Saudi Arabia will also feature prominently in the talks, including its proposed civilian nuclear program and the possibility of normalization with Israel. Netanyahu is expected to seek assurances that Riyadh will not be permitted to enrich uranium, which Israel fears could set a dangerous precedent and trigger a regional arms race.
He will also seek to ensure that any U.S.-backed Saudi nuclear program is conditioned on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, without requiring Israel to commit to what Washington or Riyadh might define as a credible path toward Palestinian statehood.
Turkey is another likely point of contention. Netanyahu is expected to urge Trump not to approve the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Ankara and to press Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government to end its increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Israel.
Netanyahu will also ask the administration to pressure Turkey to stop hosting Hamas officials, amid repeated criticism from Erdoğan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
(Photo: IDF)
On Lebanon, Netanyahu is expected to argue that the IDF should not withdraw completely from southern Lebanon, including from areas Israel regards as essential security zones. The issue follows Trump’s recent meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Israel is prepared to advance a proposed pilot plan in Lebanon but will insist that Hezbollah be disarmed as part of any broader arrangement. Netanyahu is expected to make a similar case for maintaining Israeli security zones in neighboring Syria.
In Gaza, Trump wants to see progress on his 20-point plan for the territory. Israel, however, continues to insist that Hamas must be disarmed and argues that reconstruction should not move forward while the terrorist organization retains its military capabilities.
West Bank violence will be another sensitive subject, particularly following a series of attacks and confrontations that have raised fears of a broader escalation. Netanyahu is expected to face sharp criticism from Trump and senior administration officials over settler violence against Palestinians and will present measures Israel says it has taken to address the issue.
Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister was invited by Trump and would travel without Israeli journalists aboard the official Wing of Zion aircraft. It did not announce when he is expected to return to Israel.