By Ginika Igboke
President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Feb. 11 as tensions persist over Iran’s nuclear program. The visit marks Netanyahu’s seventh trip to Washington since Trump returned to office in early 2025.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a Feb. 10 briefing that Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Tuesday night and met shortly afterward with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence. During that meeting, Witkoff and Kushner briefed Netanyahu on the first round of U.S.-Iran talks held in Oman on Feb. 6, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Trump recently ordered a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East and has warned of additional strikes on Iran if negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail to produce a deal.
Netanyahu has expressed reservations about the talks, saying any agreement with Tehran must include limits on Iran’s ballistic missile program and an end to its support for regional allies, including groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Before departing for Washington, he outlined his goals for the meeting.
“I will present Trump with principles for negotiations with Iran that are important not only to Israel but to everyone who wants peace and security,” Netanyahu told reporters.
The diplomatic efforts come months after a sharp military escalation between Israel and Iran. In June, Israeli forces launched attacks on Iranian targets, prompting Tehran to respond with days of missile barrages against Israeli cities.
Israeli officials have described the White House meeting as a strategic session centered on the U.S.-Iran negotiations and contingency planning should talks collapse, including the possibility of U.S. military action.
On Feb. 7, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Iran’s missile program is not open for negotiation. Araghchi participated in the Oman talks as part of the Iranian delegation.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Feb. 6, Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal very badly.”
Last month, Trump announced he had ordered a “massive fleet” to the Gulf region. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and elements of its strike group have since been redirected to the Middle East. The administration is now weighing whether to deploy a second carrier strike group if diplomacy falters.
“We have an armada that is heading there, and another one might be going,” Trump told Axios on Feb. 10. “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough, like last time,” he added, referencing the June 2025 U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump and Netanyahu last met on Dec. 29 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, where they discussed Gaza, Iran, Syria, and other regional issues.
“I think we came to a lot of conclusions,” Trump said following that meeting. “There’s very little difference in what we’re looking at, and where we want to be, where we want to go.”
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