Trump Says ‘Nothing Definitive’ Came Out of Meeting With Netanyahu on Iran

Mr. Netanyahu moved up a visit to Washington to discuss Mr. Trump’s continuing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear and weapons program, which Israel considers an existential threat.

President Trump said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday that he “insisted that negotiations with Iran continue” over a possible deal over the country’s nuclear program, as the Middle East remained on edge over American threats to attack.

Mr. Trump said in a post on social media that “nothing definitive” came out of his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu at the White House. He said he told the Israeli leader that he preferred a deal with Iran, but warned that without one, “we will just have to see what the outcome will be.”

Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu have met repeatedly met since Mr. Trump began his second term, reflecting the extent to which cascading crises in Gaza, Israel and Iran have commanded the president’s attention. During a 12-day-war between Israel and Iran last year, Mr. Trump ordered stealth bombers to join Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Tensions in recent weeks have spurred fear of renewed conflict: After antigovernment protests in Iran prompted a brutal crackdown that killed thousands, Mr. Trump ordered a buildup of U.S. forces in the region and threatened to attack unless Iran cut a deal with Washington.

Mr. Netanyahu had initially planned to travel to Washington later this month. But he announced last week that he would move up his visit to discuss Mr. Trump’s continuing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear and weapons program, which Israel considers an existential threat.

While Mr. Trump has mostly emphasized that Iran must agree to “no nuclear weapons,” Israel is also concerned about Iran’s stockpiles of ballistic missiles. Iranian forces fired scores of missiles at Israel during their war last year, some of which landed in densely populated cities despite the country’s sophisticated aerial defenses.

In a statement following his meeting with Mr. Trump on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu said he had “emphasized Israel’s security needs in the context of the negotiations” with Iran without providing specifics.

The crisis in Iran began late last year, when economic protests prompted by spiraling inflation escalated into a mass movement challenging the country’s authoritarian government. Iranian leaders began a brutal crackdown that left thousands dead and quelled the demonstrations.

In response, Mr. Trump sent an aircraft carrier and other U.S. forces to the Middle East. He has since vacillated between threatening to attack Iran and seeking a favorable diplomatic settlement.

Last week, senior officials from the United States and Iran met for talks in Oman, the Gulf country that has often served as a mediator between the two adversaries. But the sides did not appear to have made much progress.

American officials have demanded an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment, restrictions on the construction of ballistic missiles and for Iran to stop sponsoring armed groups like Hezbollah across the Middle East. Iran has insisted that the talks be confined to its nuclear program, and that its ballistic missile arsenal cannot be negotiated away.

Mr. Netanyahu has called for a broad deal with Iran, saying last week that the talks must include restricting Iranian missiles and proxy militias. He was fiercely critical of the Obama-era 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, from which Mr. Trump later withdrew.

Mr. Trump has suggested that he could take military action against Iran should the talks break down, as it did last June during the Israel-Iran war. While Mr. Trump initially claimed that the Iranian nuclear project had been obliterated, American intelligence later determined that it had been damaged, not destroyed.

“Time is running out,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media in late January, adding that “the next attack will be far worse” than last year’s assault.

Adam Rasgon and Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.

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