Netanyahu set for talks with Trump over Iran, tariffs

The agenda for the trip will include Turkiye-Israel relations, “the Iranian threat”, Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, tariffs and the “fight against the International Criminal Court,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Saturday.

US media reports citing unnamed US and Israeli officials said the meeting would take place at the White House on Monday.

Trump’s invitation came after a phone call on Thursday between the two leaders. Netanyahu raised the issue of tariffs during the conversation. Israel faces a 17-percent tariff under Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs”.

Israel recently moved to cancel remaining tariffs on US imports. Their free trade agreement, signed four decades ago, ensures that about 98 percent of US goods enter Israel tax-free.

Netanyahu is currently visiting Hungary on his first trip to Europe since 2023 in defiance of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Hungary’s government announced its withdrawal from the ICC just before Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed his Israeli counterpart.

The United States is not a member of the court.

Also on the agenda will be stalled efforts to reach a new agreement on a Gaza ceasefire deal and the return of Israeli captives held by Palestinian groups there. Israel renewed its attacks on Gaza last month, shattering a short-lived truce with the Palestinian group Hamas.

Trump also has pressed Iran to enter negotiations on a new agreement regarding its nuclear programme. Iran has stressed it would be willing to hold indirect talks.

Western countries, led by the US, have, for decades, accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran rejects these allegations and maintains that its nuclear activities exist solely for civilian purposes.