Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Tuesday, as both seek US support for their countries amid continuing wars.
The US President aiming to again play peacemaker despite waging his own war against Iran.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Zelenskyy will also attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 aged 71. Mr Graham, a prominent supporter of Israel and Ukraine, maintained close relationships with the two leaders and had returned from a visit to Kyiv shortly before his death.
The meetings come at a critical moment for US policy in the Middle East and Ukraine, and as Washington considers its next steps against Iran.
Israel
Tuesday will mark Mr Netanyahu’s sixth visit to the White House since Mr Trump began his second term, more than any other international leader.
"With Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump will discuss the conflict in Iran, progress with the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon, and expanding the Abraham Accords," a White House official told The National on background.
Asked whether he and Mr Netanyahu were aligned on Iran, Mr Trump replied: “Pretty close. Yeah, a little difference, but pretty close.”
For weeks, Mr Trump has struggled to end the war he launched alongside Israel on February 28 while managing divergent objectives.
The lack of progress towards ending the conflict has weighed on the US economy and could become a political liability for Mr Trump and his Republican Party in November’s midterm elections, when control of the Senate will be at stake.
Mr Netanyahu, who is also facing elections, in October, is seeking to portray the campaign against Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon as a major military victory.
Asked if Mr Netanyahu wanted the US to continue strikes on Iran, Mr Trump said: “Bibi has been great ... he was a wartime prime minister. We did very well together, and if you look at Iran now, they’re 8 per cent of what they were four months ago.”
He also hinted at tension with Mr Netanyahu over a possible US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
“Nobody tells me what we should be selling,” Mr Trump said. “And Turkey has been a tremendous ally for me. Turkey’s not a big fan of Israel, you know that, right? They’re not a big fan of Bibi but they’ve been great for me.”
Another potential area of contention is Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu will meet Mr Trump a week after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited the White House. The US has been trying to broker peace in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Mr Trump has expressed frustration with Mr Netanyahu over continued strikes on the country.
But progress has appeared to be made. The most recent round of US-backed talks in Rome resulted in Israel starting to withdraw from "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, to allow the Lebanese military to assume control. Italy has said a new round of talks will take place in Rome next week.
But Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that his talks with Mr Trump will focus primarily on Iran. “Of course, our goal is to maintain our security and also expand the circle of peace around us,” he said as he boarded his flight.
Mr Trump said talks aimed at ending the conflict with Iran were continuing and that a deal was possible, while warning that Washington would resume military action if diplomacy failed.
“They want to meet, and we’re meeting. We’ll see what happens. There’s a chance we could make a deal,” Mr Trump told reporters.
“I think there’s a good chance that something good could happen and if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing."
Iran said on Monday that it remained in control of the strait and was not seeking to resume peace talks with Washington.
The comments came after 13 consecutive nights of intensified US strikes on Iran, and Tehran responding with attacks on US bases across the region.
The US campaign stopped over the weekend, reviving prospects for a ceasefire and sending oil prices lower. US media reported that the decision followed advice from a senior military official that the strikes had reached the limits of what they could achieve.
Ukraine
Mr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House could be tense, as the first ended in a highly publicised confrontation, with Mr Trump telling the Ukrainian leader that he “doesn’t have the cards” for victory and US Vice President JD Vance berated him for failing to show gratitude.
Relations have since improved.
“With President Zelenskyy, President Trump will discuss the ongoing peace process between Russia and Ukraine,” a White House official told The National. “Now is the time to end the war.”
The two leaders met this month at the Nato summit in Turkey, where they discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defences and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Experts say Mr Zelenskyy is seeking to keep Mr Trump engaged while resisting any settlement that would formally concede Ukrainian territory to Russia.
Russia's war in Ukraine, which began more than four years ago, remains largely deadlocked.
Moscow's forces occupy about a fifth of the country despite repeated diplomatic efforts and military support from the US and European allies.
Mr Trump had made ending the war a foreign-policy priority, but efforts to broker a settlement have made little progress.
Although support for Ukraine remains divisive among Republicans, Laura Loomer, a Trump ally and far-right influencer, recently interviewed Mr Zelenskyy and said her views on the conflict had changed.
“I’ve come to realise I was bamboozled by Russian propaganda and I came to believe a lot of untrue things about Ukraine,” she told Mr Zelenskyy.
Ms Loomer told The Wall Street Journal that she had “made a mistake” in her views on Ukraine and described Mr Zelenskyy as a “wartime leader”.
