Trump to Meet Netanyahu in Washington Amid Tensions With Iran

It will be the sixth visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the United States to meet with President Trump since the president began his second term.

By Aaron Boxerman

President Trump was expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House on Wednesday, as the Middle East remained on edge over recent threats of an American attack against Iran.

It will be Mr. Netanyahu’s sixth trip to the United States to meet with Mr. Trump since the president began his second term, reflecting the extent to which cascading crises in Gaza, Israel and Iran have commanded the attention of both leaders.

Mr. Netanyahu had initially planned to travel to Washington later this month. But he announced last week that he would move up his visit to discuss Mr. Trump’s continuing negotiations with Iran over the country’s nuclear program, which Israel considers an existential threat.

“I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of these negotiations — the essential principles, which, in my opinion are important not only to Israel, but to everyone around the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Mr. Netanyahu told reporters before boarding his flight to the United States on Tuesday.

The crisis in Iran began late last year, when economic protests there escalated into a mass movement challenging the country’s authoritarian government. Iranian leaders began a brutal crackdown that left thousands dead and quelled the demonstrations.

In response, Mr. Trump ordered a significant buildup of U.S. forces in the region. He has since vacillated between threatening to attack Iran and seeking a favorable diplomatic settlement in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Last week, senior officials from the United States and Iran met for talks in the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which has often served as a mediator between the two adversaries.

But they did not appear to have made much progress.

American officials have demanded an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment, restrictions on the construction of ballistic missiles and for Iran to stop sponsoring armed groups like Hezbollah across the Middle East. It is unclear how far either the U.S. or Iran is willing to budge.

Mr. Netanyahu has backed U.S. demands for a broad deal with Iran, saying last week that the talks must include restricting Iranian missiles and proxy militias. He was fiercely critical of the Obama-era 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, from which Mr. Trump later withdrew.

Mr. Trump has suggested that he could take military action against Iran should the talks break down.

“Time is running out,” he wrote on social media in late January, adding that “the next attack will be far worse” than last year’s assault on Iran.

The last time the two countries clashed was last June, when Israel and Iran fought for 12 days after an Israeli military assault on Iran’s nuclear project.

The United States later joined the attack by sending stealth bombers to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. While Mr. Trump initially claimed that the Iranian nuclear project had been obliterated, American intelligence later determined that it had been damaged, not destroyed.

Adam Rasgon contributed reporting to this article.

Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.