TEL AVIV: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Friday and agreed to meet in the United States in the near future, Netanyahu’s office said.
The call came after the United States joined Israel in military operations against Iran. It also followed media reports suggesting tensions between the two leaders over efforts to bring the conflict to an end.
“The Prime Minister said in their conversation that the US is a guarantor of global freedom, and Israel greatly appreciates the close ties between nations,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the US,” it added.
During the conversation, Netanyahu also congratulated Trump on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence, the statement said.
The United States remains Israel’s closest ally, but relations between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have come under strain in recent weeks.
Trump has publicly criticised Netanyahu after Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon complicated US efforts to advance peace talks with Iran.
Israel rejects reports it planned to assassinate Iranian negotiators
Israel has strongly dismissed reports by The New York Times and The Washington Post adding that it planned to assassinate Iranian negotiators, calling the claims “fake news” and “a complete fabrication of reality,”.
Citing anonymous officials, both newspapers reported that US officials believed Israel had considered targeting Iranian negotiators during talks held earlier this year aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
US must ‘accept existing realities’ on trade, says Iran’s Ghalibaf
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States must acknowledge that “existing realities” have changed following the recent Israeli-US war against Iran.
Speaking during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s parliamentary speaker, Ghalibaf said post-war developments had compelled Washington to recognise the new regional landscape, adding that “conditions have improved compared to the past.”
He expressed hope that the changing environment would pave the way for expanded trade ties and create the conditions for the eventual lifting of sanctions.
Ghalibaf also said that joint management of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and Oman, coupled with a reduction in what he described as “American mischief” in the region, would improve prospects for regional transit and economic cooperation.
Lebanon’s FM says agreement with Israel not final
Earlier Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Youssef Raggi, said the framework agreement with Israel brokered by the US is not a final accord but a basis for advancing negotiations.
Speaking after meeting ambassadors from Francophone countries in Lebanon, Raggi said Beirut entered the talks because it “did not have the luxury of options.”
He also emphasized that placing all weapons under state control is “not merely an external demand, but an urgent Lebanese need” to establish a normal, strong, and sovereign state.
Israeli attacks kill 4,301 people in Lebanon: health ministry
Israeli attacks on Lebanon from March 2 to July 3 have killed 4,301 people, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The attacks have left 12,199 people wounded, according to new figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
