What does Netanyahu want out of this meeting?published at 16:19 BST
Gidi Kleiman
Reporting from Jerusalem
Before his arrival at the White House, as he prepared to leave Israel on Monday aboard the official Wings of Zion plane, Netanyahu said in a video statement in Hebrew that he “will discuss all current issues with President Trump, foremost among them being Iran”.
Their last meeting was in February before Israel and the US launched an unprecedented joint attack on Iran. Netanyahu has been campaigning for decades against Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he repeatedly said would pose an existential threat to Israel. But the war has not been concluded and Iran has not been forced to concede its nuclear programme.
In the White House meeting, he is expected to reportedly speak with Trump about intelligence that Iran has renewed its efforts to produce a nuclear weapon, and is doing so at an accelerated pace.
Strategically, a successful visit could lay a path to removing that threat by whatever means possible.
Politically, a successful visit could reinforce Netanyahu’s image as Israel’s key international statesman who is aligned with the world’s most powerful leader, ahead of challenging general elections in Israel which are scheduled for the end of October.
In his pre-boarding statement on Monday with his wife Sara by his side in a military base in southern Israel, Netanyahu reminded the Israeli public that this would be his eighth meeting with Trump since he was re-elected for his second term which he stressed was “more than any other international leader”.
