Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is set to meet President Trump on Tuesday, with one eye on Iran and another on the coming elections back home.
For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, a meeting with President Trump is always an opportunity to showcase their close relationship even if they, at times, disagree.
This time, the stakes are especially high.
Both leaders are facing electoral challenges in the months ahead and are expected to meet at the White House on Tuesday as their interests appear to be diverging sharply on the war with Iran.
Mr. Netanyahu, who is trailing in the opinion polls at home before Israel’s fall vote, is under pressure to show his domestic audience that he still has a close working relationship with Mr. Trump, analysts say, despite their differences. Mr. Trump is heading into U.S. midterm elections in November after an unpopular war that many believe he was dragged into by Israel and that has caused tensions between Israel and Washington.
Both leaders failed to deliver on their war goals of ending Iran’s nuclear program and overthrowing the country’s authoritarian clerical rulers in their joint war against Iran, which began in late February.
“We see that Trump is interested in reaching an agreement,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence commander and an Iran specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “Israel doesn’t want to hear about an agreement, so there is no alignment of interests,” he said.
Israeli leaders view returning to war as preferable, he said, because any U.S. peace agreement with Iran will strengthen the regime in Tehran that they want to see toppled.
While Israel is focused on potentially existential threats from Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Mr. Trump’s focus is on freeing movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil.
