From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Report: US only told Netanyahu it was talking with Iran after he got to DC; Trump did not promise that deal would meet PM’s demands
The Trump administration only told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, hours before his White House meeting with President Donald Trump, that the US was entering direct talks with Iran on its rogue nuclear program, Channel 12 reports.
Furthermore, the report says, Trump has given Netanyahu no assurances that the US will ensure Israel’s demands are met as regards the terms of an acceptable deal to thwart Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and no commitments regarding what the US might do if the talks fail or if Tehran subsequently reneges on their terms.
The report says the prime minister’s surprise visit to Washington was instigated when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Netanyahu’s team that he ought to fly out as soon as possible.
Netanyahu’s circle believed the main reason for the unexpected invitation was the tariff issue and prepared accordingly. Netanyahu, who was in Budapest, flew to the US on Sunday after making a statement at the airport noting that he would be the first world leader to meet with Trump in person about the tariffs: “This reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” he said.
Only when Netanyahu met Witkoff at the Blair House on Monday did Witkoff tell him the real reason he had been invited with such speed was Iran, that the US was opening negotiations with the regime on Saturday, and that it did not want to present him with a fait accompli, the report says.
When Netanyahu and his team met with Trump and his team at the White House soon after, the TV report says, Trump opened their meeting with the question, “What do you have to say on Iran?”
Channel 12 says Netanyahu set out his position about the only acceptable deal with Iran being along the lines of the Libyan model, with the Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed — as he restated earlier today — and also discussed the need for military action if necessary.
Trump, for his part, indicated that there are 60 days from Saturday allocated for the talks, and said that Witkoff would keep Israel in the picture as to their progress.
However, the report says, Trump did not commit to meeting Israeli demands as regards an acceptable deal and did not give commitments regarding what the US would do, including militarily, if the talks fail or if the Iranians don’t honor any deal.
Broadly speaking, indeed, the TV report summarizes, there was “no great difference” between what was said behind closed doors and what Trump and Netanyahu said publicly in the Oval Office when they emerged from their meeting.
The Times of Israel Community.