Washington: With President Donald Trump saying he believes Iran wants to make a deal on its nuclear programme, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is arriving at the White House on Wednesday with his own urgent message: Expand the talks further.
The visit from Netanyahu — their seventh meeting in Trump’s second term — comes as both Tehran and Washington are projecting cautious
optimism after holding indirect talks in Oman on Friday about how once again to approach negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
“We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal,” Trump said in an interview Tuesday with Fox Business Network’s
Larry Kudlow.
“I think they’d be foolish if they didn’t. We took out their nuclear power last time, and we’ll have to see if we take out more this time.”
He added, ”It’s got to be a good deal. No nuclear weapons, no missiles.”
Netanyahu’s office has said he wants those talks to include limits on Iran’s ballistic missile programme and support for militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“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,” Netanyahu said Tuesday before departing Israel.