Netanyahu: Trump Believes a Deal with Iran is Possible, Israel is Skeptical

Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, February 12 (Reporter Chen Junqing, Feng Guorui) Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on the 12th that U.S. President Trump believes an agreement can be reached with Iran, but he himself is skeptical about it.

Netanyahu concluded his visit to the United States that day and set off for home. According to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu told the media before boarding that Trump believes the "conditions he has created," along with Iran realizing the consequences of not reaching an agreement last time, mean that the conditions for reaching a "good agreement" may have matured.

Netanyahu expressed skepticism about the "quality" of any agreement with Iran. He has made it clear to the U.S. side that if an agreement is reached with Iran, it must include "content that is crucial for Israel."

According to Israeli media, the Israeli side insists that any agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran must ensure that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, completely abandons uranium enrichment activities, limits its ballistic missile capabilities, and stops supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and other so-called Iranian "proxies" in the Middle East, thereby comprehensively weakening Iran's regional influence.

On the 11th, Trump held a closed-door meeting with Netanyahu at the White House for about three hours, and then posted on social media that reaching an agreement with Iran would be the U.S. "preferred option." He described the meeting as "very good," while stating that, apart from his "insistence" on continuing negotiations with Iran to reach an agreement, no substantial results were achieved between the U.S. and Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that Netanyahu emphasized Israel's "security needs" during the meeting regarding U.S.-Iran negotiations.