FOLLOW US

President Donald Trump sat down with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, and if the walls of the Oval Office could talk, they might have described the moment like two old friends meeting after a rocky patch — cordial on the surface, but with cracks still visible underneath.

The timing couldn't be more precarious for Netanyahu. A White House official told NBC News ahead of the sit-down that the agenda would stretch across the war with Iran, the framework agreement aimed at peace in Lebanon, and the push to widen the Abraham Accords. Just hours earlier, Trump had huddled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the same address to hash out the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict — a whirlwind day of diplomacy packed into one White House itinerary.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt later described both meetings in a single word pairing: "positive and productive." Netanyahu, for his part, shared a string of photos from inside the Oval Office, capturing himself alongside Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff — a lineup that read like a who's who of American foreign policy.

A Prime Minister Under Pressure at Home

Behind the handshake photos lies a far bumpier reality for Netanyahu. The Iran war he long pushed for — and eventually launched alongside the United States — has seen its domestic support erode like sand beneath an incoming tide. Meanwhile, American sympathy for his government's military campaign in Gaza has slid sharply. Add to that a looming October election, and Netanyahu arrives in Washington leading the most right-wing government in Israeli history but facing anything but smooth sailing back home.

First Face-to-Face Since War Began

Tuesday marked the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since the war ignited at the end of February — and their first face time since a phone call last month that reportedly turned explosive. Axios reported that Trump called Netanyahu "f---ing crazy" during that call, a claim Trump later confirmed as accurate in an interview with the New York Post. His explanation was blunt: "I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon."

Netanyahu, when asked about the blowup, brushed it off as one of the normal bumps between allies. "We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends," he said, framing the friction as little more than "tactical disagreements."

Strained Friendship, Shifting Alliances

Netanyahu has long called Trump "the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House," but lately that friendship has looked more like a rope stretched taut. Aboard Air Force One Monday, Trump was asked about Netanyahu's criticism of his decision to sell F-35 jets to Turkey. His response was terse: "Nobody tells me what we should be selling and not."

Pressed on whether he and Netanyahu were aligned on Iran, Trump offered a similarly clipped answer: "We have a little difference, but pretty close." It's the kind of statement that raises more questions than it answers — are they in lockstep, or simply performing unity for the cameras?

An Election Trump Won't Touch

Asked repeatedly whether he backs Netanyahu's re-election bid, Trump has sidestepped the question like a boxer dodging a jab. Earlier this month he settled on calling Netanyahu "a great wartime prime minister," adding, "I don't know anything about his politics, I'm not sure. I would think he should be popular, because he did a very good job." Praise, yes — but a shy kind of endorsement, if it counts as one at all.

A War With No Clear End

Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that the state of the Iran war would top his agenda with Trump — a conflict that, weeks in, shows no sign of slowing. This month alone, the U.S. carried out strikes across nearly two straight weeks, while Iran fired back at ships and American assets across the region, turning the standoff into a grinding back-and-forth with no finish line in sight.

The human cost is mounting quickly. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in recent days, pushing the American death toll since the war's late-February launch to 18 — a number climbing at a pace that's alarmed lawmakers scrutinizing the administration's handling of the campaign.

Stretched Thin: America's Weapons Supply

NBC News has reported that U.S. weapons stockpiles are thinning out, and that military commanders have, in some cases, let Iranian missiles and drones slip past American defenses simply to conserve limited supplies — a strategy that sounds less like strength and more like rationing during a siege. At the same time, the Pentagon is asking Congress to greenlight an additional $67 billion in emergency funding to ramp up weapons production and speed deliveries to the front.

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, pushed back against concerns of depletion during an appearance on "Meet the Press," insisting the U.S. "has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be." Asked whether Trump had ruled out escalating strikes on Iran, Waltz said the president was giving diplomacy "some space," while stressing that every option remained on the table.

Netanyahu's Warning to Iran

In a Sunday appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump less as an information exchange and more as a chance to align strategy with an ally whose decisions carry outsized weight. "I think in many ways it's his decision," he said of Trump's role in shaping what comes next.

Then came a warning delivered with the bluntness of a closing argument: "If Iran attacks Israel, either directly or through proxies, either with ballistic missiles or UAVs or killer drones, it will make a terrible mistake, because our response, Israel's response, will be very, very forceful," Netanyahu said — a line meant to leave zero room for miscalculation.

Saudi Arabia, Nuclear Deals and the Abraham Accords

Last week, Trump laid down a condition of his own: Saudi Arabia must normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords before he'll approve any civil nuclear deal with the kingdom. Netanyahu voiced full agreement Sunday, calling Trump "absolutely right in stating that condition" — a rare moment of total alignment amid an otherwise complicated relationship.

A Farewell to an Old Ally

Beyond the political maneuvering, Netanyahu's Washington trip carries a somber note. He's set to attend the memorial service for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Israel supporter and Iran hawk whose death marks the loss of a steadfast ally. Netanyahu honored him Sunday before his Cabinet, calling Graham "a great friend of Israel" and adding, "he was one of Israel's greatest friends since its inception, and it is fitting that we pay him this respect."

Arrest Warrants, Mamdani and a Presidential Guarantee

The visit also lands amid a swirl of controversy far removed from battlefield strategy. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video on X saying the city lacks legal authority to arrest Netanyahu should he attend the United Nations General Assembly in September — while urging the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and enforce its warrant against him.

The U.S., notably, isn't even a member of the ICC, the world's leading war crimes tribunal. Trump shut down the idea entirely in a Truth Social post, declaring that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America." Netanyahu, undeterred, confirmed on "Sunday Morning Futures" that he still plans to travel to New York for the Assembly.

The Case Behind the Warrants

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others back in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity tied to Israel's war in Gaza. Prosecutors alleged there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid, and that civilians were deliberately targeted during the campaign against Hamas — accusations Israeli officials firmly reject.

As the dust settles from Tuesday's meeting, one thing is clear: the Netanyahu Trump meeting resolved little on paper, but it revealed just how tangled — and consequential — this alliance has become.