Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US

Donald Trump set the stage for his first meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in months by declaring that Israel “wouldn’t survive” without the US and playing down concerns about selling F-35s to Türkiye.

The US president’s remarks came on the eve of his meeting in Washington with the Israeli premier on Tuesday, the first since the two men launched the war on Iran earlier this year, the Financial Times reported.

The meeting comes as US and Israeli interests in the Middle East have appeared to diverge, with Trump announcing a ceasefire between the US and Iran in April — before Israel had achieved any of its war goals.

Trump on Monday acknowledged “a little difference” in his and Netanyahu’s military objectives, and hinted at ongoing tensions with the Israeli premier, telling reporters as he travelled to Michigan that the US has been overly generous with “a lot of countries”.

“Frankly we’re being very nice to a lot of countries that would not survive without us. And you know who wouldn’t survive without us? Israel,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. “Bibi’s coming, he’ll tell you.”

Tuesday’s meeting will be the eighth between the two men since Trump returned to office last year and will take place a few hours before they attend the funeral of Republican senator Lindsey Graham, an influential proponent of the Iran war and a key ally of Netanyahu in Washington.

Netanyahu said as he departed for the US on Monday that the meeting would “first and foremost” be about Iran, but “all issues” would be on the agenda.

A person briefed on the matter said Netanyahu was going to Washington in “listening mode” but wanted the US to expand operations against Iran beyond the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that has become the focal point of the conflict in recent months.

Trump paused US attacks on Iran last Friday, after 13 consecutive nights of bombing. Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, said on Sunday that Trump hoped to give “the talks some space” to succeed.

“Netanyahu wants it to be about more than just Hormuz,” the person said. When the war was launched in late February, Netanyahu said the objectives were to destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and topple its regime.

Stabil.Az