Netanyahu and Trump to meet on February 15
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold his first meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on February 15, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Monday.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in announcing the meeting, said, “our relationship with the only democracy in the Middle East is crucial to the security of both our nations, and the president looks forward to discussing continued strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation with the prime minister.”
Netanyahu then issued a statement saying he “deeply appreciated” Trump’s “kind invitation” and the warm words about Israel.
“I look forward to discussing with him the areas of cooperation between us that are so vital to the security and well-being of our two countries,” he said.
The meeting is seen as one of critical importance in coordinating positions on a number of issues, including Iran, the Palestinian diplomatic process and the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
A number of senior members in Netanyahu’s cabinet are urging the prime minister to come to Trump with a clear diplomatic initiative and message as to what Israel wants to emerge from a diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
The two men, who have known each other for years, last met in September, just a month before the US elections.
Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu still planned to visit Singapore and Australia next month as well, with Netanyahu expected to return from the US on
February 16 and then fly east on February 18.
This will be the first visit to either of those countries by a sitting prime minister. After the cancellation of trips there by Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and then-foreign minister Avigdor Liberman over the last three years, it was clear that another such cancellation would not be looked upon favorably in Australia, which is very supportive of Israel in the international arena.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that in light of reports that Iran has conducted another ballistic missile test in violation of a UN Security Council resolution, one of the issues he will raise with Trump is the reimposition of sanctions on Iran. He said it is forbidden that Iranian “aggression” go without a response.
On Monday, officials told Fox News that the test occurred on Sunday outside Semnan, about 225 km. east of Tehran.
The missile in question was the Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile, which the officials said flew 965 km. before exploding in a failed test of a reentry vehicle.
The test was in direct violation of a clause in UN Resolution 2231, the resolution that endorsed the Iranian nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The JCPOA clearly stipulated that Iran could not “undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”
The United States and Europe lifted sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program when the deal went into effect in January 2016.
During his campaign, Trump expressed his opposition to the nuclear deal reached last year between Iran and world powers, calling it one of the “worst deals” in history.
In an October address to supporters in Jerusalem, Trump vowed that he would stand up to Iran.
“My administration will stand side-by-side with Israel and Jewish leaders,” Trump said in the recorded video address. “Together, we will stand up to enemies, like Iran, bent on destroying Israel and your people. Together, we will make America and Israel safe again.”
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report. •