Trump and Netanyahu hold first meeting since joint Iran offensive, clash over war strategy

A meeting behind closed doors

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office on Tuesday for the first time since the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran on 28 February. The 90-minute meeting was closed to the press. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterised it as "positive and productive", while Netanyahu released a video calling it "one of the best conversations" he has had with the US president. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and special peace envoy Steve Witkoff also attended. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

I just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump. When I say excellent, it is not just a protocol compliment. It was a conversation of full collaboration, of mutual support, with an understanding of the shared goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.

Diverging strategies on Iran

The appearance of unity masked a deep split over how to proceed. Hours before the meeting, Trump vented frustration on Fox News after Netanyahu publicly shared Israeli intelligence about Iranian nuclear activity at the Pickaxe Mountain site. "I know exactly what is happening in Pickaxe," Trump said. "It is not a big problem. Bibi tells me because he wants me to stay involved. Why do you have to announce it to the world?" The president has signalled he would prefer to use the military punishment inflicted on Iran since April as leverage for a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu insists that military pressure must continue until Tehran's nuclear capability is eliminated and its regional influence curtailed.

I know exactly what is happening in Pickaxe. It is not a big problem. Bibi tells me because he wants me to stay involved. Why do you have to announce it to the world?

Political pressure on both leaders

Tensions between the two men have been building for months. In an early June phone call, Trump berated Netanyahu over Israeli strikes on Lebanon that nearly derailed Gulf ceasefire talks. "You are completely crazy. You would be in jail if it weren't for me. I am saving your skin. Now everyone hates you. Everyone hates Israel for this," Trump told him, according to a report by El País. Both leaders now face electoral tests: Trump must defend his majority in midterm elections on 3 November, with his base increasingly weary of a war that has pushed up energy prices. Netanyahu faces a tight re-election on 27 October and needs to demonstrate that his defining alliance with Trump remains intact. The White House hosted the Israeli prime minister at Blair House, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also visited Washington the same day, stayed at a hotel.

War toll, oil markets and ceasefire pause

The human cost of the conflict is mounting. The Pentagon has reported 18 US service members killed and around 600 wounded since 28 February. Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel last week but retreated to roughly $90 in Europe and $83 in the United States after Trump ordered a halt to strikes on Monday 27 July, following 13 consecutive days of bombing, to make room for what he called "very deep conversations" with Tehran, yet a fragile ceasefire deal signed in June has already unravelled. On 8 July, Washington declared the memorandum of understanding with Iran terminated following two days of crossfire.

What comes next

Netanyahu continues to oppose a diplomatic resolution and arrived with intelligence he says shows Iran is close to a nuclear bomb. Trump, however, has hinted he may pursue a massive attack if talks stall while also conceding that such a strike would carry consequences for Israel. The meeting produced no public commitments, and the two leaders are expected to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of Israel who died on 11 July, before Netanyahu returns home. The path forward remains defined by a ceasefire that no longer holds and a war neither leader can publicly abandon ahead of their elections.