Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Washington for talks with Donald Trump. Iran, at the center of the agenda of the meeting
Donald Trump meets Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-A-Lago. Credit line: Alex Brandon / AP / Profimedia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday to discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on Saturday, according to Reuters and AFP.
Iranian and American officials held indirect talks on the nuclear program in Oman's capital, Muscat, on Friday. Both sides said that new rounds of negotiations are expected in the coming period.
A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters that Iran had insisted in negotiations with the United States on its “right to enrich uranium” and that its missile capabilities were not addressed in the talks.
Iranian officials ruled out the possibility that Iran's missiles, one of the largest such arsenals in the Middle East, would be called into question and said Tehran wanted recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
“The prime minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Wednesday's meeting would be the seventh between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump since the latter returned to the White House last January.
The two were supposed to meet on February 18, but the talks were brought forward amid the resumption of contacts with Iran. A spokesman for Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the reasons for the meeting's date being changed.
Last June, the United States joined an Israeli military campaign against Iran's uranium enrichment and other nuclear facilities, marking the most direct US military action yet against the Islamic Republic.
Iran retaliated by launching a missile attack on a US base in Qatar.
The United States and Israel have repeatedly warned Iran that they will strike again if Tehran continues its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programs.
Major powers and states in the region fear that a failure of the negotiations could trigger a new conflict between the United States and Iran, with the risk of spreading it throughout the oil-producing region.
Iran has vowed a tough response to any attack and warned Arab countries in the Persian Gulf that host US bases could become targets if they were involved in a possible strike.
Tehran warns: “We will hit US bases in the region” if the US attacks
