Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued his diplomatic visit to Washington on Tuesday by meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Following the sit-down at Blair House, the president’s guest residence across from the White House, Netanyahu is scheduled to travel along Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol for a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La). He is expected to return to Blair House afterward for additional meetings.
In the afternoon, Netanyahu is slated to head to the Senate for a meeting with Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and other members of the chamber.
Netanyahu, his wife, Sara, and the prime minister’s delegation arrived in the U.S. capital on Monday, joining U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House for a working dinner following remarks to the press.
This is Netanyahu’s third visit to Washington since the start of Trump’s presidency.
Netanyahu opened the meeting by presenting Trump with a copy of the letter he had sent to the Nobel Prize Committee nominating the president for the prestigious peace award.
“It’s well-deserved, and you should get it,” said Netanyahu. Trump responded, “Coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful.”
New opportunities for regional peace
Netanyahu said the “partnership between Israel and the United States—the partnership between President Trump and me—produced a historic victory” over Iran. On the Palestinian front, he said that Israel and the United States are working with other countries to help improve prospects for Gazans, suggesting the effort could include the relocation of residents of the Strip to nations in the region.
Netanyahu said that the shifting security landscape in Syria, highlighted by Iran’s reduced influence and a weakening Hezbollah, has created new opportunities for stability and peace. He credited the Trump administration and recent regional developments for paving the way toward a potential departure from conflict, though he declined to comment on any direct talks with Syria’s new leadership.
For his part, Trump revealed that his administration has scheduled negotiations with Iran, saying that “they want to talk” after taking a “big drubbing,” a reference to U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. He suggested the date for the talks would be announced on Tuesday.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, told reporters the negotiations with Iran would begin “in the next week or so.”
Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu met with Witkoff and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Blair House.
Witkoff will travel to Qatar “later this week” to join the ongoing indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, the White House confirmed on Monday afternoon.
Fifty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, including at least 20 who are believed to be alive 640 days after being taken during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre.
