Netanyahu Denies Dictating Trump on Iran
Israel has denied accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to dictate the direction of US foreign policy to President Donald Trump, particularly regarding Iran. Tel Aviv authorities stressed that the two close allies hold completely aligned views. It was also emphasised that Netanyahu and Trump maintain close coordination, especially concerning the war against Iran.
The assertion, as reported by Axios and Anadolu Agency on Wednesday (29/7/2026), was made by the communications director for the Israeli Prime Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of Netanyahu’s visit to meet Trump at the White House this week. “The claim that Israel is urging the US to take specific steps on the Iran issue is not true,” Hotovely said in her statement.
Hotovely’s statement followed Trump’s open criticism of Netanyahu for publicly discussing concerns about Iran’s underground nuclear facility, Mount Pickaxe. Trump complained that Netanyahu had not first discussed the matter privately with him. However, Trump suggested that Netanyahu’s move was a tactic to persuade the US to remain involved in the conflict with Iran.
Hotovely clarified that Netanyahu was not dictating to the US President or pressuring him to steer policy in a particular direction. “The Prime Minister is not dictating to the US President what to do or pushing him towards a certain policy. Both sides equally want to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” she stressed.
Netanyahu held talks with Trump at the White House on Tuesday (28/7) local time, marking their first meeting since the war against Iran began. The meeting was held behind closed doors. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the Trump-Netanyahu meeting as “good and productive”. In a statement via Instagram, Netanyahu said the conversation was one of the best the two have ever had. According to Hotovely, besides discussing Iran, the two leaders also talked about the possibility of normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. She added that the issue of US sales of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, which Israel opposes, was not discussed during the meeting, nor did Trump demand that Israel withdraw its troops from areas they occupy.