Trump says Israel ‘would not survive without US’ – hours before crunch Netanyahu talks | World | News
Donald Trump has claimed that Israel “wouldn’t survive” without the US – hours before a crunch meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. The US President, who will meet with the Israeli Prime Minister on Tuesday, acknowledged “a little difference” in the pair’s military objectives in Iran and hinted at ongoing tensions.
He told reporters on Air Force One: “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. Bibi’s coming, he’ll tell you.” This comes ahead of the leaders’ eighth meeting since Mr Trump took office last year. Mr Netanyahu said ahead of the talks that it would “first and foremost” be about Iran, but “all issues” will be discussed.
They said: “Netanyahu wants it to be about more than just Hormuz.”
The source added that Mr Netanyahu will also raise concerns about Turkey asking to buy F-35 fighter jets from the US, as he believes it will lessen Israel’s military advantage over other countries in the region.
A White House official told the outlet that Mr Trump would “discuss the conflict in Iran, progress with the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon, and expanding the Abraham Accords”.
During his speech in Michigan on Monday, the US President said he’s making the “largest-ever investment in the United States Armed Forces”, which he called the strongest military in the world.
He added: “We’re winning big time with the Islamic Republic of Iran. We’re ensuring that they’re never having a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. If you understood the power of the nuclear weapons, you’d understand exactly what I was saying.”
Mr Trump called Iran “the bully of the Middle East”, adding: “You can’t bribe them, you gotta beat them, and we’re beating the hell out of them.
“We’ll see how it turns out. Right now there are very friendly negotiations going on.”
