Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and President-elect Donald Trump see "eye-to-eye" on the threat posed by Iran while also revealing he and Trump have spoken three times since Trump's Election Day victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The talks "were designed to further tighten the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S.," Netanyahu said Sunday in a video statement, the Times of Israel reported. "We see eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat in all its components, and the danger posed by it. We also see the great opportunities before Israel, in the expansion of peace, and in other realms."
Iran has vowed to retaliate following Israeli airstrikes Oct. 27 destroyed the Islamic Republic's air defenses and missile production capabilities. Those Israeli airstrikes were in retaliation for a barrage of 200 ballistic missiles that Iran lobbed at the Jewish state on Oct. 1. Days earlier, Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime head of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.
Netanyahu described his conversations with Trump in the past few days as "good and very important," the Times of Israel reported.
In Trump's first term, he and Netanyahu had a close relationship. Trump declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy there and also supported Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and Western powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. He also ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' foreign operations arm, the Quds Force. The IRGC is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
But their relationship cooled after Netanyahu congratulated President Joe Biden on his 2020 election victory while Trump was trying to contest the results. But the leaders seemed to mend fences in July, when Trump played host to Netanyahu and his wife Sara at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Netanyahu also wrote a congratulatory post on X to Trump following Election Day and was one of the first world leaders to call him after his victory.
Trump wants the wars in Gaza and Lebanon to be wrapped up by his inauguration on Jan. 20, the Times of Israel reported, and has made that clear to Netanyahu. He also informed the Biden administration that he expects to see progress to obtain a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Netanyahu's statement on Trump came as Israel Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Washington, D.C., in an effort to make progress on a cease-fire in Lebanon, the Times of Israel reported. According to Israel's Channel 12, Dermer also will meet Trump and senior aides. Dermer was reportedly in Russia last week on a secret visit to discuss Moscow's role in ensuring that a diplomatic arrangement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah lasts.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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