U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were set to hold talks in Washington on Monday that offer a chance to project a common front against Iran but are expected to do little to advance seemingly stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects.
Trump's push to change or scrap Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and concerns over Iran's foothold in Syria were expected to top the agenda of his talks with Netanyahu, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
Both leaders have long criticized the deal, especially for its limited duration and for its lack of coverage of Iran's ballistic missile program and Iranian support for anti-Israel militants in the region.
Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement unless European allies help "fix" it with a follow-up accord. An Israeli official said Netanyahu and Trump were likely to talk about how to overcome European resistance on the matter.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure from Israel, Netanyahu described Trump as "a great friend of Israel's and a close personal friend."
"I intend to discuss a series of issues with him [Trump], but foremost Iran, its aggression, nuclear ambitions and aggressive actions in the Middle East, including even along our border," Netanyahu said.
"I will first thank him for the historic decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem on [Israel's] Independence Day [this May]. This is a very big gift for our country.
"I think that the need to fend off [Iran's] aggression is a shared objective for us and our neighbors in the region, but first and foremost it is a need for us, the citizens of Israel. I am embarking on this trip on behalf of all the citizens of Israel, as I understand it, to achieve three objectives: security, peace and economic prosperity."
Israel has accused Iran of trying to establish a permanent military presence in Syria. Iranian-backed forces are in Syria supporting President Bashar Assad in the seven-year civil war.
Netanyahu also warned that Israel could act militarily against Iran after an Iranian drone breached Israeli airspace last month, followed by an Israeli warplane being shot down while bombing air defenses in Syria. He has also accused Iran of planning to build precision-guided missile factories in Lebanon, amid tensions along that border.
Michael Oren, a deputy minister in the Israeli cabinet and former ambassador to the U.S., told Channel 13 on Sunday, "We want to know and we must know what the U.S. position will be if we do enter into some wider confrontation with Iran."
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Iran to withdraw its military forces from Syria. But with Russia the dominant international player in Syria, it is unclear what practical steps Washington could take to ease Israeli concerns.
Trump and Netanyahu will also discuss efforts led by the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, to formulate an Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal, which the president has said could lead to the "deal of the century."
However, the process has gone nowhere since Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and announcement of the coming move of the U.S. Embassy to the city in May, shortly after Israel's 70th anniversary.
No major announcements or breakthroughs are expected from Trump's talks with Netanyahu, whose relationship with the president has been among the closest of any world leader.
"This is a routine check-in meeting," one U.S. official said of the visit, Netanyahu's second to the Trump White House.
The Trump administration remains hopeful the Palestinians can be drawn back into negotiations after a "cooling-off" period, one U.S. official said. But the official conceded there had been no signs that this would happen anytime soon.
Some analysts believe Kushner's ability to run the Middle East initiative has been handicapped by his recent loss of access to top-secret U.S. intelligence, following a White House clampdown on access to such intelligence for those without full security clearance.
A second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Trump administration has no plans to use Netanyahu's visit to roll out peace proposals Kushner's team is crafting.
"We are as committed to peace as ever," the official said. "We will release the plan when it is done and the time is right."
