Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday as Israel is pushing for a new war with Iran following talks between US and Iranian officials in Oman on Friday.
Axios reported that Netanyahu was initially set to visit the US on February 18, but Israel requested that the meeting be moved up following the Oman talks. The meeting will mark the sixth time Trump hosts Netanyahu in the US during this administration.
In a statement on the upcoming meeting, Netanyahu’s office said that any negotiations with Iran “must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis.”
The demand that Iran must place limits on its missiles, the country’s only deterrence and way to launch counter-attacks against the US and Israel, is designed to sabotage diplomacy and ensure that there is war. Iran has made clear that its missile program isn’t up for discussion, something it reiterated following the Oman talks.
“Missiles are never negotiable because they are a defense issue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday. Araghchi led the talks for Iran in Oman and met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, who holds no official position in the administration but has been deeply involved in Middle East policy.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel has conveyed to the US that Iran’s missile program is a “red line” and that it’s willing to act alone, though the US would likely defend Israel from any Iranian counterattacks as it did during the 12-Day War back in June 2025. When Trump met Netanyahu back in December, he said that he was willing to back an Israeli attack on Iran if the Islamic Republic “continues” its missile program.
Following the US-Iran negotiations in Iran, Trump said the talks were “very good” and claimed Tehran was willing to do more to reach a deal than it was last year, though Araghchi also said Iran would not agree to end its nuclear enrichment program.
During negotiations last year, the US demanded zero enrichment, which Tehran rejected, but a potential agreement was on the table to establish a regional nuclear consortium involving Iran and Gulf Arab states. Under the proposed deal, uranium enrichment would occur at the joint nuclear site. The potential location of the site wasn’t clear, and negotiations were still underway when Israel launched the 12-Day War on June 13 with full US backing.
Hours before the first Israeli strikes hit, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that he was committed to diplomacy with Iran, suggesting that he could be using the current talks as cover to prepare for war. According to Axios, he said after the Oman talks that he was in “no rush” to attack Iran because he was still putting military assets “in position” in the region and that he preferred a diplomatic deal. “They know that if they don’t make a deal, the consequences are very steep,” he said.
