Closed-door talks focused on Iran as protesters demanded Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held closed-door talks at the White House on Tuesday focused on Iran, while demonstrators gathered in Washington to protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and demand the enforcement of International Criminal Court arrest warrants against the Israeli leader.
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The 90-minute meeting was the first between Trump and Netanyahu since the military campaign against Iran began five months ago and their eighth since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
The discussions included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Steve Witkoff.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the meeting as “positive and productive.” Netanyahu said the talks focused on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Hours before the meeting, Trump criticized Netanyahu for publicly disclosing information about Iranian activity at an underground facility that the United States and Israel consider linked to an alleged Iranian effort to develop a nuclear weapon.
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The leaders also discussed differences over arms supplies and Israel’s intention to maintain its presence in areas occupied during military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Outside the White House, demonstrators, including anti-Zionist Jewish groups and other activists, protested Netanyahu’s visit and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. They called on U.S. authorities to enforce arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who face accusations of war crimes in connection with the conflict.
Ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna also urged U.S. authorities to comply with the ICC’s judicial proceedings.
According to figures cited in the press release, 73,329 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, have been killed and another 174,009 injured since Oct. 7, 2023.
Earlier in the day, Trump and Netanyahu attended the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, following the senator’s death on July 11 at the age of 71.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.