On July 28th, local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States to attend the memorial service for the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. This was his first visit to the United States since the outbreak of the war in Iraq between the United States and Israel. During his stay, U.S President Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting with him at the White House.
According to reports by the Associated Press and The Times of Israel, during a meeting on the eve of the memorial service, Netanyahu praised Graham as Israel's "number one friend" to Trump. Trump immediately corrected him, saying, "I am Israel's number one friend; Lindsey is second."
"Israel Times" reported that the meeting lasted approximately 90 minutes. Netanyahu said after the meeting this was one of his "best conversations with Trump," a dialogue "built on strong partnership, mutual support and agreement on shared objectives - ensuring Iran does not possess nuclear weapons and other goals". The White House declared that the talks held "positive and constructive" significance.
According to senior officials accompanying the delegation, the meeting had a positive atmosphere. Both sides discussed several regional issues across all fields of cooperation. The focus was on Iran, and they reaffirmed their common commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. They also exchanged views on strengthening the alliance between the United States and Israel, as well as expanding opportunities for cooperation in the Middle East region.
According to Ziphi Hotovely, the head of public diplomacy at the Prime Minister's Office, this meeting was 'excellent'. Both sides achieved 'comprehensive coordination'. The focus was on discussing Iran-related issues and the coordination between Washington and Jerusalem. The expansion of the provisions related to the Abraham Accords was also mentioned.
She also clarified that the meeting never discussed the underground nuclear facility known as “Gaoshan” by the outside world. The claim that “Israel showed relevant information to the US during the meeting” is completely false.
According to The Israel Times, Trump expressed concerns to the media before the meeting. He feared that the widely reported meeting would reinforce the impression among the outside world that "Israel is manipulating the United States and trying to drag the United States back into a full-scale war with Iran."
Hotovely responded that the US did not exert any pressure on Israel, nor did they demand that Israel abandon military achievements made in Lebanon or the Gaza Strip. She stated that the main purpose of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was to deepen strategic coordination with the US, rather than attempt to directly involve the US in conflicts.
"The statement that Israel is pushing the United States to take some action is unfounded. The Prime Minister's objective is to deepen coordination, not force Mr. Trump to take any specific action; we won’t tell President Trump what to do.”
According to reports, all senior officials from both sides participated throughout the meeting. The American participants included Vice President Wilson, Secretary of State Rubicoff, Defense Secretary Hagel, CIA Director Rattke, and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Issues Witterkov. The Israeli participants included the newly appointed National Security Advisor Ben Ezer and the Ambassador to the United States, Littel, among other senior officials. After the meeting, neither side held a joint press conference, nor did they issue any public statements to the media.
