Trump meets with Netanyahu, Zelenskyy as wars drag on
by Tom Howell Jr., Mike Glenn · The Washington TimesPresident Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “positive and productive” White House meeting Tuesday as the Iran war, a periodic source of tension between the men, reached a pivotal stage and they confronted tough election seasons.
Mr. Netanyahu described the meeting as one of his best conversations with Mr. Trump.
Speaking on Instagram, the prime minister said the two men had “an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well.”
“One of the best conversations I’ve had with the President of the United States, our friend Donald Trump,” he said.
The men presented a united front exactly five months after their militaries launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Iran retaliated by clamping down on oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, sparking cycles of violence and peace negotiations testing Mr. Trump’s patience and forcing him to choose between diplomatic talks and harsher options.
“I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour,” Mr. Trump said on “Fox & Friends” before the meeting. “I could knock out all of their power plants within one day.
“They know I’m going to do that if they don’t make a deal. The bridges are going to be gone,” he said.
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Iran warned that any country or business accepting payouts from its frozen assets in the U.S. and Europe will be barred from sending ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, Mr. Trump proposed using at least $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets to reimburse commercial shipping companies for losses caused by Tehran’s blockade of the strategic waterway.
Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, an Iranian military spokesman, described such a move as illegal and threatened consequences.
“Iran’s armed forces would deny passage through the Strait of Hormuz to vessels belonging to any company or country that accepted payments from Iran’s frozen assets,” Col. Zolfaqari said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
On Tuesday, Kurdish opposition officials blamed Iran and its proxies for a wave of drone strikes in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The barrage, which began Monday, involved at least 14 suicide drones that caused material damage but no injuries, officials said.
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Mr. Trump has often characterized the Iran war as an “excursion” and initially anticipated that it would last several weeks.
The conflict remains unpopular in U.S. polling, and the president has battled perceptions that Mr. Netanyahu talked him into a quagmire.
Mr. Trump insists he is calling the shots. On Tuesday, he said he does not need guidance from Mr. Netanyahu on how to handle Pickaxe Mountain, an Iranian site linked to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Speaking to Fox News, Mr. Trump responded to media reports that Mr. Netanyahu planned to present evidence of increased activity around the site.
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“Why can’t you just tell me? Why’d you have to tell the world?” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Netanyahu.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that,” he said. “Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved. We have the greatest cameras in the world. We know exactly what’s going on.”
It was Mr. Netanyahu’s eighth meeting with Mr. Trump since his return to the White House, and their first since the Iran war began.
Both leaders are facing tough electoral challenges.
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U.S. Republicans hold slim majorities in the House and Senate heading into the November midterm elections, and Mr. Netanyahu will face former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, in Israel’s general election on Oct. 27.
Before his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the war with Russia dragged into its fifth year.
Mr. Zelenskyy said he spoke with Mr. Trump about Ukraine’s air defenses against Russia and ways to restart the diplomatic process to wind down the war.
“Both meetings were positive and productive,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after Mr. Zelenskyy and then Mr. Netanyahu departed.
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The Russia-Ukraine war and the Iran war recently became intertwined. Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, alleging it was carrying material aid to Russian forces.
Iran reacted furiously, saying the attack was unfounded and unlawful.
“Ukraine may soon come to understand that Iran does not leave its actions unanswered. The list of those who miscalculated continues to grow,” Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on social media.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Iran has no standing to act like an innocent victim.
“The regime in Tehran is a direct accomplice to Russian aggression against Ukraine, fueling Moscow’s criminal war with weapons that have killed Ukrainians since 2022,” Mr. Sybiha said.
Mr. Trump is pushing to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, which started in February 2022.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said he would give Ukraine the right to manufacture its own Patriot missiles through a U.S. license for Raytheon technology.
Ramping up production could take months, however, so Mr. Zelenskyy is trying to address urgent needs to resist Russian attacks.
“The president and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,” Mr. Zelenskyy said after his meeting with Mr. Trump. “We also spoke about diplomacy — it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated. Our teams will arrange the details of their further communication. I am grateful to the United States for its firm support.”
Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Netanyahu paid final respects Tuesday to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican and a staunch supporter of Ukraine and Israel.
A group of senators announced a bipartisan agreement to advance legislation imposing sanctions on Russia. The sanctions would target Russian officials, oligarchs and their family members, and Russian banks.
The legislation honors Mr. Graham’s legacy.
“We are proud to announce an agreement on legislation to stop purchasers of Russian oil and gas from fueling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine and to continue restricting the Iranian regime’s ability to support terrorism and build its nuclear program,” the senators said. “There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham’s legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement, and we look forward to today’s vote.”
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Mike Glenn
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Tom Howell Jr.
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