Benjamin Netanyahu wants Trump to ensure limit on Iran's missiles, no help to proxies

TEL AVIV: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants US President Donald Trump to expand the scope of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup.

Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial back its ballistic missile program and cut ties to militant groups across the region. Iran has always rejected those demands, saying it would only accept some limits on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

It's unclear if Iran's bloody crackdown on mass protests last month, or the movement of major US military assets to the region, has made Iran's leaders more open to compromise, or if Trump is interested in broadening the already difficult negotiations.


Netanyahu, who will be in Washington through Wednesday, has spent his decades-long political career pushing for stronger U.S. action towards Iran.
"On this trip we will discuss a range of issues: Gaza, the region, but of course first and foremost the negotiations with Iran. I will present to the President our views regarding the principles for the negotiations," Netanyahu said before heading to the US.

Decisions being made
Netanyahu's visit comes just two weeks after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and west Asia adviser, met with the prime minister in Jerusalem. The US envoys held indirect talks in Oman with Iran's foreign minister on Friday.

"The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis," Netanyahu's office said over the weekend, referring to Iran-backed militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Years of nuclear talks have made little progress since Trump scrapped a 2015 agreement with Iran, with strong encouragement from Israel. Iran has shown little willingness to address the other issues, even after suffering repeated setbacks. But the meeting with Trump gives Netanyahu an opportunity to shape the process and may also bolster his standing back home.

"Clearly these are the days when decisions are being made, America is expected to complete its force buildup, and it's trying to exhaust the prospect of negotiations," said Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank. "If you want to have influence on the process, only so much can be done via Zoom."

'Up to us to act independently'
Meanwhile, Iran on Tuesday, warned of "destructive" influence on diplomacy ahead of Netanyahu's visit. "Our negotiating party is America. It is up to America to decide to act independently of the pressures and destructive influences that are detrimental to the region," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

"The Zionist regime has repeatedly, as a saboteur, shown that it opposes any diplomatic process in our region that leads to peace."

He said Friday's discussions addressed general topics, adding that it "was not a long meeting" but was "to measure the seriousness of the other side". Baqaei insisted that Iran's focus would remain strictly on the nuclear file in return for sanctions relief.