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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu volition conscionable U.S. President Donald Trump successful Washington connected Wednesday (February 11, 2026), seeking to property him to follow a tougher enactment connected Iran’s ballistic rocket programme successful the adjacent circular of talks.
It volition beryllium their sixth gathering successful the United States since Mr. Trump returned to bureau a twelvemonth ago. They besides met successful Jerusalem successful October erstwhile Mr. Trump announced a ceasefire successful Gaza.
The gathering comes days aft arch-foes Iran and the United States held talks successful Oman, aft which Mr. Trump said different circular of negotiations would follow.
Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump volition besides conscionable amid increasing planetary outrage implicit Israeli measures to tighten power of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to bargain onshore straight from its Palestinian owners.
However, it remains unclear whether the contented volition beryllium raised successful their talks, contempt Mr. Trump’s past absorption to immoderate annexation of the West Bank.
Mr. Netanyahu’s bureau said helium volition item Israel’s concerns implicit Iran’s rocket arsenal successful discussions with Mr. Trump, and not conscionable the atomic programme.
He “believes immoderate negotiations indispensable see limitations connected ballistic missiles and a halting of the enactment for the Iranian axis”, Mr. Netanyahu’s bureau said implicit the weekend, referring to Iran’s allies successful the region.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the scope of its talks with the U.S. beyond the atomic issue, though Washington besides wants Tehran’s ballistic rocket programme and its enactment for militant groups connected the table.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned Tuesday (February 10, 2026) that Mr. Netanyahu’s sojourn would person a “destructive” power connected diplomacy that is “detrimental to the region”.
Israel’s concerns came to a caput during an unprecedented warfare betwixt the 2 longtime adversaries successful June past year.
Since then, Israeli officials person repeatedly warned that Iran’s rocket capabilities airs a menace chiseled from, and successful immoderate ways much contiguous than, its atomic programme.
Israeli officials reason that Iran could onslaught Israel with small informing and besides overwhelm the country’s air-defence systems successful a sustained conflict.
During the June war, Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and different projectiles astatine Israeli territory, striking some subject and civilian areas.
Those that landed successful densely populated areas “caused terrible damage,” said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran adept astatine Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
“I don’t deliberation it’s similar existential threat, but decidedly it’s a large menace connected the Israeli location front.”
Missiles a ‘red line’
Analysts accidental Netanyahu is precise wary of immoderate woody with the Iranians.
“He’s acrophobic that President Trump is not rather arsenic enthusiastic astir a subject onslaught connected the Iranians arsenic Netanyahu wishes were the case,” said Guy Ziv, an subordinate prof astatine the overseas argumentation and planetary information section astatine American University successful Washington.
“He wants to archetypal person President Trump that Iran’s ballistic missiles, which helium sees arsenic a large menace to Israel, indispensable beryllium included successful immoderate statement implicit Iran’s atomic programme.”
“He wants to marque definite that... Trump sees that arsenic a reddish enactment arsenic well,” Mr. Ziv told AFP.
“For Netanyahu, the maximalist nonsubjective is clear: authorities alteration (in Iran) oregon astatine the precise slightest the implicit dismantling of atomic and rocket capabilities,” geopolitical expert Michael Horowitz told AFP.
The 12-day warfare successful June was triggered by unprecedented Israeli strikes connected Iranian subject and atomic facilities, arsenic good arsenic residential areas.
The United States aboriginal joined the offensive, striking 3 Iranian atomic sites, earlier a ceasefire brokered by Mr. Trump came into force.
In Israel, the warfare killed 30 radical and caused extended harm to property, including a infirmary and respective nationalist institutions.
In October 2024 Iran fired a barrage of immoderate 200 missiles astatine Israel successful effect to the assassinations of elder Hamas and Hezbollah.
In April 2024, amid the Israel–Hamas warfare successful the Gaza Strip, Iran — a cardinal backer of the Palestinian Islamist radical — launched its first-ever drone and rocket onslaught connected Israel.
That onslaught was successful retaliation for a deadly onslaught connected Iran’s consulate successful Damascus days earlier, which Tehran blamed connected Israel.
