JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship.The meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.The two leaders also plan to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.“We have a little difference,” Trump said Monday when asked by reporters if he and the Israeli prime minister were on the same page with Iran. “But pretty close, yeah.”
Trump and Netanyahu’s relationship has ebbed beforeTrump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years, but upon his return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than ever. When they started the war together in February, it was with a united front, touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out Iran’s leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West.
