Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will sit down with President Donald Trump on Tuesday for their first face-to-face meeting since the United States and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes against Iran in late February. The White House talks come as the Trump administration has temporarily halted bombing operations against Tehran, citing a desire to leave room for potential diplomatic talks, though concerns about dwindling U.S. munitions have also surfaced.
Netanyahu described the meeting as both a “great honor” and a “great responsibility” in a statement posted Monday on social media. He said the ongoing conflict with Iran would dominate the agenda. “Our goal is clear: to safeguard Israel’s security, strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us,” he wrote, adding that he was traveling “out of a deep commitment to ensure the security, strength, and future of the State of Israel.”
Trump has defended Netanyahu amid calls for his arrest from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who cited an International Criminal Court warrant and labeled the Israeli leader a “war criminal.” Trump dismissed the threat on Truth Social, writing that Netanyahu would “not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” He argued that Netanyahu is “fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers.” Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also floated the idea of detaining Netanyahu over the weekend.
The Israeli premier is in Washington primarily to attend funeral services for Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime ally and foreign policy hawk who died earlier this month from an aortic dissection at age 71. Graham will be honored Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol and Washington National Cathedral, with additional services Wednesday in South Carolina. Netanyahu called Graham “a true friend of mine and the State of Israel.”
Trump’s decision to pause strikes on Iran has drawn scrutiny, with the administration saying it is giving negotiations “a little bit of room.” Still, the president has warned that the military is prepared to resume attacks if necessary. The halt also reflects rising concerns about U.S. weapons stockpiles, which have been stretched by the campaign.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also in town for Graham’s memorial services and will meet with Trump on Tuesday. Zelensky was among the last people Graham met with before his death. Every U.S. senator has been invited to an evening meeting with the Ukrainian leader as the Senate considers one of Graham’s final legislative priorities: tougher sanctions on Russia and its trading partners over the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky posted on X early Tuesday that his “number-one priority” during the visit is strengthening Ukraine’s anti-ballistic defense capabilities and its relationship with the United States. “Of course, on behalf of all of Ukraine, we will honor the memory of Senator Lindsey Graham,” he wrote, noting Graham’s commitment to “security and freedom across the transatlantic community.”
