Netanyahu 'mere prop' during 'embarrassing' Trump meeting
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Israeli media take a jab at Prime Minister Netanyahu's meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, which the Israeli premier left without concrete results.
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US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025 (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "caught off guard" and visibly stunned during a meeting with US President Donald Trump, after Trump unexpectedly announced that "direct talks" between Washington and Tehran were set to begin, Israeli media reported.
The announcement came during a televised meeting in Washington on Monday. “It’ll go on Saturday,” Trump said, referring to the upcoming talks.
“We have a very big meeting and we'll see what can happen. I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious — and the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with,” the US president said, referencing potential military action against Iran.
He added that even "Israel", “if they can avoid it,” would not want to engage in such a scenario.
“Hopefully those talks will be successful,” Trump expressed.
Touching on the two leaders' meeting, the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom said members of the Israeli delegation were visibly unsettled by Trump’s statement, which they had not anticipated.
A senior political source told the newspaper that although Israeli officials later attempted to downplay the surprise, in reality, “Israel had no prior knowledge of an agreement between Trump and the Iranians to launch talks.”
The newspaper cited one Israeli official present at the meeting as saying, “The shock was written all over their faces.”
Netanyahu reportedly responded to the development by demanding the complete dismantling — rather than a mere freeze — of Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure, despite international inspectors having found no evidence of a military dimension to the program.
Separately, another source revealed to Israel Hayom that Netanyahu was informed during the meeting that "Israel" would be involved in shaping the negotiations — a detail the source described as “a very positive aspect” despite the initial surprise.
The US-Iran negotiations are reportedly being facilitated by Oman, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US regional envoy Steve Witkoff expected to hold indirect talks in Muscat on Saturday.
Tehran has repeatedly emphasized that any dialogue must be based on mutual respect and require the full lifting of Washington’s unilateral sanctions, particularly those imposed under Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.
Trump’s surprise announcement overshadowed what had originally been portrayed as a visit focused on trade and tariffs. Israeli media later revealed that the true purpose of Netanyahu’s hastily arranged trip was to receive a personal briefing from the White House regarding the upcoming US-Iran talks.
Netanyahu received 'harsh and even somewhat humiliating' response
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu had expected progress on the 17% tariff Trump imposed on Israeli goods. Instead, he received what the outlet described as a “harsh and even somewhat humiliating” response, leaving Washington without any concrete results.
“The prime minister did not get the gift he was hoping for — a declaration from Trump that he would reduce or cancel the 17% tariff on Israeli imports,” it wrote.
Trump, however, commended Netanyahu for lowering tariffs on US products and urged other sides to follow suit, offering only to “keep talking” on the matter.
As for the situation in Gaza, where "Israel" has resumed its war and where Israeli captives are still being held, Trump made no significant policy announcements. He simply expressed hope that the war “would end soon,” offering vague remarks about the captives.
Despite confronting Netanyahu with multiple surprises during the meeting, Trump emphasized US military support for "Israel".
“The US gives Israel $4 billion a year,” he confirmed, noting that the figure includes an additional $1 billion on top of the usual aid package.
Trump also reiterated his controversial proposal — first announced earlier this year — for the US to “own” Gaza, saying it remained “back on the table.” He said that Netanyahu had persuaded him that certain countries, reportedly contacted by the Mossad, were open to accepting displaced Palestinians from Gaza.
'Possibly the most failed meeting ever'
On its part, the Israeli newspaper Walla described the White House meeting as “possibly the most failed meeting ever” between an American president and an Israeli prime minister.
“Netanyahu found himself in the Oval Office in a situation he hadn’t anticipated. Trump threw complex political, security, and economic issues at him, and he failed to respond to any of them effectively,” Walla emphasized.
Maariv similarly characterized Netanyahu's visit as ending in “an embarrassing event” that raised more questions than it answered. The daily indicated that instead of steering the agenda, Netanyahu ended up being “a mere prop” in what appeared to be Trump’s effort to reassert his role in international diplomacy.
Read more: Netanyahu’s D.C. trip: All optics, no outcomes - Israeli media
