Netanyahu’s visit on Wednesday marks his sixth trip to the US since Trump’s return to office – more than any other world leader. <\/p>\n
A close Trump ally, Netanyahu has long argued that Iran represents an existential security threat to Israel and has pushed the US to curb Tehran’s influence in the region.<\/p>\n
“The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement ahead of his trip.<\/p>\n
The visit comes as the US increases its military presence in the Middle East, with Trump warning Tehran of action if it fails to strike a nuclear deal. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the president said that he was “thinking” about sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. <\/p>\n
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was sent to the region last month after Trump threatened to strike Iran to stop a government crackdown on mass protests in which thousands of people were killed.<\/p>\n
“We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said in an interview with Axios. Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal very badly”, adding that a diplomatic solution remains possible.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have also said the country reserves the right to take military action against Iran if it doesn’t reach a nuclear agreement with the US. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu is under pressure from allies in his far-right government to use his ties to Trump to push for a wide-ranging US-Iran deal that meets the Israeli government’s security concerns, experts said.<\/p>\n
“Israel is concerned that in the haste to get a deal with Iran, the president might embrace a deal that doesn’t address Iran’s missile program or support for proxy groups, or that allows it to have some remnant of its nuclear program,” said Dan Byman, a professor at Georgetown University.<\/p>\n
“One worry Israel and other allies have about the US under Trump is that he wants a deal more than he wants a particular outcome,” added Byman.<\/p>\n