"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washi­ngton , where he said he would meet US President Donald Trump for their first face-to-face talks since the start of their conflict with Iran. It will be Netanyahu’s eighth meeting with Tru­mp since Trump returned to office, and their first since February, right bef­ore Israel and the United States launched a joint aer­ial campaign against Iran. “In these complex times, you need to act with both great determination and great wisdom.

We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, primarily Iran. Of course, our goal is to protect our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us,” Netan­yahu said in a video statement upon departure. Israel has not taken part in a two-week bombing campaign this month that provoked Tehran to fire on US bases in response. Trump halted the campaign over the weekend. Iran said it would suspend its own attacks for as long as the US pause endures. Israel has warned Tehran that any attack would trigger a forceful Israeli response.

Netanyahu has in recent weeks acknowledged that he and Trump have had some differences, as Israeli and US interests in the region appeared to diverge. An acrimonious phone call last month, first leaked to the media and later publicly confirmed by Trump himself, laid bare the strains that have at times emerged between the two leaders.

On July 21, Israel announced that it had redeployed some of its forces in southern Lebanon, as part of the US-backed agreements reached with Leba­nese authorities in recent weeks. A meeting with Trump that showcases what has traditionally been a close relationship between the two leaders could help Netanyahu at home, where he is facing an Oct 27 election and is struggling in opinion polls.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)