President Donald Trump expressed frustration today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public disclosure of fortification work at an Iranian nuclear bunker, accusing him of trying to keep the United States entangled in war with the Islamic Republic.
Speaking to Fox News on the day he’s set to meet Netanyahu at the White House, Trump downplayed the significance of Pickaxe Mountain, an underground facility near the city of Natanz, saying the U.S. could destroy it very easily if no agreement is reached to end hostilities with Tehran.
“We know exactly what’s happening. But yeah, I heard Bibi [Netanyahu] announce that. I told him: ‘Why don’t you just tell me directly? Why do you need to announce this to the whole world?’ I know exactly what’s happening at Pickaxe Mountain. It’s nothing major,” Trump said.
Asked about reports that Netanyahu planned to raise Iranian activity at the site during their meeting, Trump responded that he doesn’t need Bibi to tell him that, adding that Netanyahu brings it up because he wants the U.S. to stay involved in the conflict.
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Trump reiterated that the U.S. could destroy most of Iran’s bridges in under an hour and take out all of its power plants within a single day.
Today’s meeting in Washington marks the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since the United States and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign against Iran on February 28. Recent weeks, however, have been marked by visible friction with the Israeli leader, tension Trump hasn’t fully hidden as he pursues a deal with Iran, even as he works to downplay it publicly.
On Monday, Trump warned Netanyahu that no one dictates which weapons the United States sells to other countries, responding to Israeli opposition over a planned transfer of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is his friend and that no one tells him what he can or cannot sell to him. He acknowledged what he called minor disagreements with Netanyahu, while insisting the two remain very close.
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Trump has spent months pursuing an agreement with Tehran aimed at ending a war that has proven unpopular among American voters and driven up oil prices, while Netanyahu has expressed concern that any deal between Washington and the Islamic Republic could strengthen Israel’s main regional rival.
Although Trump has publicly praised Netanyahu, describing him as a wartime prime minister, he also acknowledged having called him “crazy” during a tense phone call last June over Israeli strikes in Lebanon that threatened to derail progress with Tehran.
Trump said Monday that he had ordered a pause in consecutive rounds of bombing against Iran, at the request of Middle Eastern mediating countries, in order to give diplomacy another chance.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that Israel is very eager to resume its offensive against the Islamic Republic, but that the United States has been delaying it out of concern over potential retaliation against countries in the region and the risk of a broader global oil supply crisis.
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Discussions at the White House are expected to focus primarily on Iran, though they’re also expected to address the Washington-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon, as well as other regional issues including the situation in the Gaza Strip.
