President Donald Trump held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to discuss renewing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran and said he told the Israeli prime minister that negotiations with Tehran would continue to see if a deal could be reached.
According to foreign media, the Telegraph reports, Netanyahu was expected to push Trump to expand talks with Iran beyond its nuclear program, including restrictions on Tehran's missile arsenal and other security threats.
In their seventh meeting since Trump returned to office last year, Netanyahu - whose visit was more subdued than usual and closed to the press - was seeking to influence the next round of US discussions with Iran following nuclear negotiations held in Oman last Friday.
The two leaders met for nearly three hours.
Trump has threatened attacks on Iran if a deal is not reached, while Tehran has vowed to retaliate, fueling fears of a wider war.
He has consistently expressed support for a secure Israel, an early US ally and sworn enemy of Iran.
In media interviews on Tuesday, Trump repeated his warning, saying that while he believes Iran wants a deal, he would do "something very tough" if it refused.
“Nothing conclusive was achieved except that I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see if a deal can be made or not,” Trump said in a social media post after meeting Netanyahu. “If possible, I will let the Prime Minister know that this would be a preference.”
Trump told Fox Business in an interview aired on Tuesday that a good deal with Iran would mean "no nuclear weapons, no missiles," without giving details.
He also told Axios that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group as part of a major US reinforcement near Iran.
Israel fears the US may pursue a narrow nuclear deal that does not include restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program or an end to Iranian support for armed proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, according to people familiar with the matter.
Israeli officials have urged the US not to trust Iran's promises.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss possible military action if diplomacy with Iran fails, a source said.
Iran has said it is prepared to discuss limits on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
"The Islamic Republic's missile capabilities are non-negotiable," Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on Wednesday. /Telegrafi/
