US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a White House meeting scheduled for next week, immediately following Trump's return from the upcoming NATO summit. Speaking in a phone interview, Trump described his relationship with Netanyahu as 'very good' while suggesting he holds significant influence over the Israeli leader, stating 'He knows who the boss is.' The high-level talks would mark their first face-to-face meeting since February 11, 2026, when their discussions focused on how the United States and Israel would respond if negotiations with Tehran failed to produce an agreement. According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu called Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the 250th Independence Day of the United States, using the conversation to emphasise that America is a 'guarantor of global freedom' and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations.
The development comes at a time when Trump has been publicly critical of Netanyahu in recent weeks after Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened peace talks with Iran. According to the latest updates, Trump told Netanyahu he was 'f--king crazy' over his attacks on Lebanon on June 1, fearing they would provoke more war with Iran. A US official summarized Trump's comments, saying, 'You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.' However, Trump later confirmed to The Post that he had used the language, saying he was 'a little bit perturbed' by Israel's continued military operations in Lebanon while insisting the two still had 'a very good relationship.'
During their latest conversation, Trump told Netanyahu that pursuing negotiations with Iran remains his priority, while signaling that military force could again be considered if Tehran refuses to reach an agreement. As reported by The New York Post, Trump noted that Iran's previous decision not to sign a deal 'did not end well for them', indicating the potential for renewed military action. The president emphasized that 'No final decision was reached, other than the fact that I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue in order to determine whether an agreement can be reached'. The two leaders had last met on February 11, 2026, when their discussions focused primarily on how the United States and Israel would respond if negotiations with Tehran failed to produce an agreement, with Netanyahu requesting that any attack also target Iran's ballistic missile stockpile.
The meeting comes as Iran stages a week of mass funeral processions for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in February by US and Israeli airstrikes at the start of the four-month war. Khamenei's body was lying in state in a vast hall in Tehran on Friday as clerics, officials, foreign dignitaries and mourners paid their respects after his 37-year rule. The funeral comes at a critical moment for Iran, where the clerical rulers backed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps are riding high from surviving what they saw as an existential war against their greatest and most powerful foes. Khamenei's body was expected to be taken to Qom, Najaf and Karbala - the great Shiite centers of Iran and Iraq - before being laid to rest on Thursday in Mashhad, home to the country's holiest shrine. His coffin was unveiled late on Thursday to a throng of sobbing supporters, swaying and beating their heads in time to a sung lament as flowers were thrown from the bier into the crowd.
Addressing developments in the Middle East, Trump stated in an interview with Axios that he has been following the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the war in a joint US-Israeli operation. He claimed that Iran was 'begging to make a deal' with the United States but said diplomatic engagement had temporarily slowed during the mourning period. Trump added that he was surprised to see mourners grieving because he believed people disliked the leader, musing, 'Maybe it's fake tears.' Since the US-Iran memorandum of understanding signing on June 26, major frustrations between the two allies have quelled at least publicly. Israel has since signed a tri-lateral agreement with Lebanon and the US to help restore peace to the region.
In a significant development, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected reports of a growing rift with US President Donald Trump, asserting that the two leaders remain closely aligned on Iran despite ongoing US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme. Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said any differences between Washington and Jerusalem were being handled privately and insisted the relationship remained strong. 'I don't think there's a rift,' he said, adding that the US has 'no greater ally than Israel' and Israel has 'no greater ally than the United States.' Addressing speculation over disagreements on Iran, Netanyahu said both countries share the same objective — preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. 'Deal or no deal, as long as I'm prime minister, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,' he emphasized, demonstrating continued commitment to the shared security objectives despite recent tensions.
