JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday about the U.S. talks with Iran, his office said Saturday, as concerns remain high about possible regional conflict.
“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement.
The U.S. and Iran held indirect talks on Friday in Oman that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump said the United States had “very good” talks and said more were planned for early next week. The U.S. was represented by Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on the nuclear program after earlier sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships to the region amid Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands of others detained.
Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war that would drag them in as well, with memories fresh of Israel launching its 12-day war on Iran last June.
For the first time in negotiations with Iran, the U.S. on Friday brought its top military commander in the Middle East to the table. U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the military’s Central Command, then visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday with Witkoff and Kushner, the command said in a statement.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists Friday that “nuclear talks and the resolution of the main issues must take place in a calm atmosphere, without tension and without threats.”
Araghchi said diplomats would return to their capitals, signaling this round of negotiations was over.
It remains unclear what terms Iran is willing to negotiate at the talks. Tehran has maintained that these talks will only be on its nuclear program.
However, the Al Jazeera satellite news network reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and pledge to “not initiate the use of ballistic missiles.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the talks needed to include all those issues.
