Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, to try to convince him to adopt a tougher line against Tehran, particularly on the issue of Iranian ballistic missiles, during future negotiations.
Published on: 02/10/2026 - 12:37 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 1:40 p.m.
With Mr. Trump, “we will discuss a series of subjects: Gaza, the region, but of course and above all negotiations with Iran,” Mr. Netanyahu declared Tuesday before his departure for the United States.
“I will present to the (American) president our views regarding the principles of the negotiations, the principles that are important (...) not only for Israel, but for anyone (...) who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he added.
This new meeting between the two allies follows the opening of talks between the United States and the Islamic Republic, while Washington maintains military pressure on Tehran with the deployment of a large naval force in the Gulf.
MM. Netanyahu and Trump have already met six times in the United States since the latter's return to the White House in January 2025. The American president also visited Jerusalem in October after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
After initial talks on February 6 in Oman, Washington and Tehran said they wanted to continue the dialogue.
“Iranian Axis”
But Iran repeats that it will only agree to discuss its nuclear program while the United States demands a broader agreement, including the limitation of the country's ballistic capabilities and an end to its support for armed groups hostile to Israel, such as the Houthi rebels of Yemen, the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah or Hamas.
A non-negotiable requirement for Israel, approximately 2,000 kilometers from Iran.
“We must include in any negotiation the limitation of ballistic missiles and the freezing of support for the Iranian axis,” underlined Mr. Netanyahu, who for twenty years has presented the Islamic Republic as an existential threat to Israel.
On Tuesday, Tehran called on the United States to resist “destructive influences” that could derail the resumption of talks between the two countries, accusing Israel of acting “as a saboteur”.
In 2024, Iran launched two missile attacks against Israel, the first time in response to a deadly Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus, the second in retaliation for the assassination by Israel, in Tehran, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and that, in Beirut, of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In June 2025, the two countries fought a 12-day war, triggered by an unprecedented attack by Israel which primarily targeted Iranian military command as well as missile launchers and nuclear program installations.
The United States joined its ally's offensive by striking three Iranian nuclear sites.
In Israel, this war left 30 dead. “Maybe 10% of the missiles fired pierced the active Israeli defense, but those that fell in very densely populated areas did indeed cause serious damage,” notes Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
“Major threat”
“I don’t think it’s an existential threat, but it’s certainly a major threat,” he added.
Mr. Netanyahu has said for years that military action is the only way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue once and for all.
He "worries that President Trump is not as enthusiastic as he would have liked about the idea of a military attack," notes Guy Ziv, associate professor of foreign policy and global security at American University.
"He first wants to convince" the American president that Iran's ballistic missiles must "be included in any agreement", believes the researcher, and "ensure that Trump also considers this as a red line".
© 2026 AFP
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