President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in their first phone call Sunday since the president’s Friday inauguration.
The conversation reportedly focused on the Iran nuclear deal and the stalled Palestinian peace process, according to Netanyahu’s bureau. Additionally, Trump invited Netanyahu to meet in Washington sometime in a February. An exact date is expected some time in the coming week.
Netanyahu told Trump that he wants to “work together on a joint vision to promote peace and security in the Middle East in a way where there is no daylight between the U.S. and Israel,” according to Netanyahu’s bureau.
The White House also announced Sunday that the administration is “at the very beginning of even discussing” the potential movement of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Trump promised to move the embassy several times as both a candidate and president-elect. The groundwork for moving the embassy has been in place for years, but the issue remains contentious given the stall in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.
Few details were offered regarding the conversation on the Iran deal, however, the two leaders are well-known critics of the nuclear agreement. Netanyahu was one of the most vocal detractors of the nuclear negotiations and subsequent deal, and outlined his criticism in a speech to congress in February 2015. Trump campaigned on tearing up the agreement, although he and his team have walked back those comments in recent weeks.
U.S.-Israel relations declined during the Obama administration, mostly due to significant disagreements between Obama and Netanyahu on the Iran nuclear deal and the Palestinian issue. Trump promised to rebuild relations with Israel as president.
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