Netanyahu laid out Iran options for Trump rather than pushing specific strategy — senior Israeli official

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not push a particular strategy regarding Iran on US President Donald Trump during their Oval Office meeting, a senior Israeli official says, characterizing the sit-down as an “exchange of ideas” regarding the three main scenarios before them.

The first scenario would be a diplomatic agreement with Iran; the second would be a murkier scenario where there is no deal and the US continues trying to pressure Iran through economic sanctions without a return to war; and the third option is to launch a major new offensive against the Islamic Republic, the senior Israeli official explains during a briefing with Israeli reporters in Washington.

The senior Israeli official seeks to dispel the notion that Netanyahu came to Washington in order to convince Trump to resume strikes against Iran, as was widely reported to have been the case during his last visit in February when he made a high-stakes case for why the US should join Israel in striking Iran.

Trump got on board less than three weeks later, but many of the predictions Netanyahu made in the Situation Room about how smoothly the campaign would go did not pan out.

This time around, Netanyahu did not tell Trump which of the three scenarios was preferred, although the premier acknowledged that he noted his doubts regarding the possibility that Iran will uphold any agreement that it signs, the senior Israeli official says.

The two leaders discussed all three scenarios in detail, laying out the advantages and disadvantages of each, the senior Israeli official says.