JERUSALEM, Israel—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Sunday to discuss the 17 percent tariff the U.S. placed on Israel.
He addressed those tariffs as he left for Washington after a four-day state visit to Hungary. “And I can tell you that I am the first international leader, the first foreign leader, to meet with President Trump on an issue that is so important to the Israeli economy,” he stated.
Netanyahu plans to meet on Monday with President Trump in the Oval Office, followed by public statements and a joint press conference.
At the top of the agenda: Iran. The president called it the “obvious subject.”
"Well, there's a lot of things going on with the Middle East right now that have to be silenced,” he noted.
Netanyahu also put the Tehran regime on the agenda.
"I intend to speak with President Trump about how to confront Iranian aggression — and to protect Israel's security and economic interests,” the prime minister declared.
Iran’s nuclear threat is growing as it steps up its production of enriched uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency says it's just a short step away from having enough weapons-grade material for five or six nuclear weapons.
The concern over Iran intensified when Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed intercepted Hamas internal documents that link Iran to the October 7th terror attacks launched by Hamas.
Katz claims the documents found in a Hamas tunnel prove Iran financed Hamas’s plan to annihilate Israel. The terror group’s slain former leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, asked a top Iranian military commander for $500 million.
As Katz put it, “This is definitive proof of Iran’s support for Hamas’s plan to destroy Israel and for the October 7th massacre.”
Under the heading “The Destruction of Israel,” the letter appealed for the money to “uproot this deformed entity (Israel)” and meet in a liberated Jerusalem.
In a show of military coordination, the U.S. has quietly transferred another THAAD missile battery to Israel—one of America’s most advanced air defense systems.
American officials say the move is intended to protect against a possible retaliatory strike from Iran if the U.S. and Israel decide to target Iran’s nuclear facilities directly.
US military action may also be leading Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq to back down. Reuters reports several Iraqi militias are ready to lay down their arms after US officials warned Baghdad they might be targeted for attack.
The White House meeting comes at a critical moment with both nations weighing the risks of confronting Iran and the cost of inaction.
Netanyahu’s visit could shape the next steps in the region, diplomatically, militarily, and even prophetically.
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