Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington, departing on July 27 and meeting President Donald Trump at the White House on July 28, his seventh visit during Trump’s second term—the most by any world leader [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
Netanyahu’s visit also includes attending the funeral service for the late US Senator Lindsey Graham [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. President Trump announced the trip publicly on July 24 during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner [2, 3, 6].
The visit takes place amid a surge in US-Israeli military operations against Iran. US Central Command has conducted 13 consecutive nights of air strikes on Iranian targets, and Iran has retaliated with attacks on US assets, including a recent strike in Jordan that killed three US soldiers [4, 6]. Concurrently, Israel continues military operations in Gaza and Lebanon amid ongoing conflict and diplomatic efforts [4, 6].
On July 26, Netanyahu convened the Israeli Security Cabinet ahead of the US trip [7]. During an interview the same day, Netanyahu claimed US-Israeli joint strikes have severely damaged Iran’s nuclear program by killing 20 key nuclear scientists and setting the program back several years. He said, "We knocked out 20 of their chief nuclear scientists in the two operations that we did with the United States" [8].
Netanyahu warned of a strong reaction to future Iranian attacks on Israel, stating, "If Iran targets Israel through direct strikes or proxies, the response will be 'very, very forceful.'" He also expressed support for linking Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear development to its entry into the Abraham Accords, aligning with US policy [8].
President Trump quipped about the visit, saying, "I am going to send him (Schumer) a beautiful Palestinian outfit tomorrow, so he can greet Bibi Netanyahu when he comes to town next week" [2].
Netanyahu will meet Trump at the White House on July 28 and attend Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral, marking his latest high-level engagement amid escalating regional tensions [1, 4, 5].
