Netanyahu Presses Trump to Widen Iran Talks Beyond Nuclear Program to Missiles and Proxies

Benjamin Netanyahu walked into the White House on Wednesday carrying a single request: that the coming negotiations with Iran be made bigger. It was his seventh meeting with Donald Trump since the president began his second term, and it came at a moment when both Washington and Tehran were speaking with guarded optimism about where diplomacy might go.

The backdrop was a round of indirect talks held in Oman on Friday, the first step in working out how to approach negotiations over Iran's nuclear program again. Trump, speaking Tuesday to Larry Kudlow on Fox Business Network, said he believed Iran wants a deal and would be foolish not to take one. He recalled that the U.S. had destroyed Iran's nuclear power the last time, and said it remained to be seen whether it would take out more. His condition was plain: it has to be a good deal, with no nuclear weapons and no missiles.

Netanyahu's office says he wants the talks to reach well past the nuclear file, to include limits on Iran's ballistic missile program and on its support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Before leaving Israel on Tuesday, he said he would lay out to the president the principles he believes should govern the negotiations, principles he described as important not only to Israel but to anyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East. Israel has long demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment, scale back its missiles and sever ties with armed groups across the region. Iran has always refused, saying it would accept only some limits on its nuclear work, and only in exchange for sanctions relief.

How much sway Netanyahu will have is unclear. Trump first threatened military action over Iran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in January, then moved in recent weeks to a pressure campaign aimed at pushing Tehran toward a nuclear deal. Meanwhile Washington has reinforced its presence in the region with an aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, air defense assets and other forces. Countries including Turkey and Qatar have urged both sides to show restraint, warning that a strike or retaliation could destabilize a region already strained by the war in Gaza.

Iran is still absorbing the effects of the 12-day war with Israel in June. The airstrikes, which included U.S. bombing of several Iranian nuclear sites, killed nearly 1,000 people in Iran and almost 40 in Israel. Trump said at the time that Iran's nuclear capabilities had been obliterated, but the extent of the damage remains unclear. Recent satellite photos show activity at the sites, raising concern that Iran may be trying to salvage material or assess the damage. Iran has refused International Atomic Energy Agency requests to inspect the bombed sites, and had already restricted inspections after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.

On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there would be consultations on next steps and called the deep mistrust between the two adversaries a serious challenge to the talks. He signaled Iran will hold to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium, a major point of contention with Trump. In November, Araghchi said Iran was no longer enriching because of the war's damage. Before the war, Iran enriched up to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade, and the IAEA said it was the only country to do so without having the bomb.

Trump said Friday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had held "very good" talks, with more planned this week, while warning that if no deal is reached, the consequences are very steep. Witkoff and Kushner briefed Netanyahu on the Oman talks shortly after he arrived Tuesday evening. On Wednesday he also met Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Blair House.

Gaza is likely to come up as well. Trump plans to convene the first meeting of his Board of Peace next week. It was first framed to oversee the next stages of the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan but has grown to reflect his wider ambitions to resolve other crises. Netanyahu has signed on to the board, though that may not mean he attends the opening session. The thing to watch is whether Trump adopts Netanyahu's broader agenda for the Iran talks, and how the military buildup shapes the next round.