United States President Donald Trump is having his first meeting with the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu since the start of the conflict with Iran in February21:20, 27 Jul 2026Updated 21:41, 27 Jul 2026Donald Trump claims Israel “wouldn’t survive” without the United States ahead of his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.‌The US President is having his first meeting with the Israeli leader since the start of the conflict with Iran in February and there is friction with Netanyahu not wanting Turkey to have American made F-35 fighter jets.‌Close attention will be on the meeting as US and Israeli interests appear to have diverged firstly with a deal made by the Americans for a ceasefire with Iran before Netanyahu appeared to achieve all his goals.‌That ceasefire collapsed but after nearly two weeks of airstrikes by both sides there has been a fresh pause in attacks.And Trump made a cutting comment to reporters about Israel's reliance on the US today.“Frankly we’re being very nice to a lot of countries that would not survive without us. And you know who wouldn’t survive without us? Israel,” Trump said on board Air Force One. “Bibi’s coming, he’ll tell you.”‌On a new ceasefire, Trump has insisted that new meetings were requested directly by Iranian officials, saying they reached out directly “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.”“We’re having good talks, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters Monday on Air Force One. “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen. And if it does, good. if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”Trump rejected a suggestion that his patience with negotiations could be wearing thin. “I have plenty of time,” he said.‌Meanwhile, Trump hasn’t ruled out selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, which is not a friend of Israel.Netanyahu and Trump are meeting at the White House on Tuesday, and the prime minister has made clear he does not want Turkey to get the American-made jets.Trump was asked about such a sale to Turkey as he flew to Michigan and said, in an apparent rebuff of Netanyahu, that “nobody tells me what we should be selling.”‌“Turkey’s been a great ally for me,” he said of the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I think he’s done a very good job, did a good job with Syria. He’s a friend of mine.”Asked if he and Netanyahu are on the same page when it comes to the war against Iran, Trump replied, “We have a little difference but pretty close, yeah.”When the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, the allies appeared shoulder to shoulder.‌Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic’s military, eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and topple its government. Trump announced the death of Iran’s supreme leader in the opening barrage and urged Iranians to “take back” their country.But it soon became clear that while Trump was seeking a quick win, Netanyahu wanted to vanquish Iran and its allies, even if it required an extended conflict.The collision course runs through Lebanon, where fighting has continued between Israel and Hezbollah despite ceasefire announcements. Iran wants Lebanon included in any wider regional truce and so Israel's actions are hampering Trump's hopes of a deal.Article continues belowThe tensions spilled into the open last month, when Trump acknowledged holding a tense call with Netanyahu about Lebanon. He admitted to using expletives and calling the Israeli leader “crazy,” saying he’d grown frustrated that Israel’s war on Hezbollah threatened the Iran talks.