Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington on Saturday evening to attend the funeral of late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, according to Israeli media, with reports suggesting he is also seeking a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Israeli news outlet Ynet , citing Israeli sources, said Netanyahu hopes to meet Trump against the backdrop of the renewed US blockade of Iranian ports. A meeting has not yet been confirmed, though the two leaders are expected to meet on Sunday or Monday next week.
According to the report, Netanyahu's office had already begun trying to arrange a meeting with Trump last week. Their last face-to-face meeting took place on 11 February in the White House Situation Room.
One of the main reasons for Netanyahu's push to meet Trump is an attempt to rebuild trust following the war with Iran, Ynet reported, amid growing criticism from figures close to the US president who believe the Israeli premier's assessments during the conflict proved incorrect.
According to the report, there are concerns that Trump blames Netanyahu for the war's failure.
Another priority for Israel is to present US officials with its intelligence assessments ahead of expected negotiations between Washington and Tehran over a permanent nuclear agreement.
According to Ynet , Israel wants to ensure the United States goes beyond limiting Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and maintains previously stated "red lines", including the removal of enriched uranium from Iranian territory.
The report added that Israel also wants to prevent Iran from retaining any right to enrich uranium, a position it believes the US has recently softened. Israeli officials are also expected to urge Washington to include Iran's ballistic missile programme and its support for allied groups across the region in any future agreement.
Netanyahu is expected to attend memorial events for Graham in Washington next week. Commemorations are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, before Graham's body is transferred to South Carolina the following day, although the final funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.
The planned visit comes a day after Axios , citing US and Israeli officials, reported that Trump told Netanyahu during a phone call last Thursday that Israel should begin redeploying its forces out of Syria and do the same in Lebanon .
According to a US official quoted by the outlet, Trump warned Netanyahu that the continued presence of Israeli troops in Syrian territory was fuelling tensions and risked further escalation, particularly following a recent incident in which gunfire was directed at an Israeli military position in Syria, prompting an Israeli strike inside the so-called buffer zone.
Trump reportedly told Netanyahu: "They [the Syrians] don't want you there. You should redeploy."
The report said the Trump administration had spent months attempting to broker a new security arrangement between Israel and Syria, but ultimately concluded that Netanyahu was unwilling to make the concessions requested by Washington, including a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas occupied after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024.
Netanyahu's expected visit will coincide with that of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who is also due in Washington after receiving a White House invitation to meet Trump on Tuesday.