Trump, Netanyahu agree to meet amid reports of shifting US bases in Gulf to Negev, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have agreed to a meeting in the near future in the United States, in a telephonic conversation on Friday, July 3, according to a report by Times of Israel, which cited the PMO Israel. Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the 250th anniversary of the US Independence Day. He said that “the US is what ensures the freedom of the world, and Israel greatly appreciates the tight bond between the nations.”

While no official date or location has been confirmed, the statement suggests that “Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the US." Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that the two sides are planning to meet at the White House. The report also suggests that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is also expected to visit Washington during that time. Trump is seeking to bring them together despite suggestions that the Lebanese president had opposed direct phone contact with the Israeli premier.

Also Read: Iran issues stark warning to UK, France over Strait of Hormuz military plan

US planning to shift Gulf bases to Israel

This meeting comes as the Wall Street Journal reported on the US shifting the operational systems in its military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to Negev, Israel, after suffering heavy attack from the Iranian missile and incurring $400 million worth of damage. The attempt is to increase the distance between US bases and Iranian missile launchers. A period of heightened tension ensued between the two traditional allies, the US and Israel, in light of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding that was signed on June 17. Tensions rose after Trump publicly criticised Netanyahu's heavy-handed military strategy against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Trump argued was threatening the fragile peace in the region. Following the tensions, the US brokered a Trilateral Framework Agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, which was officially signed on June 26, 2026. It sought to disarm Hezbollah in exchange for Israeli withdrawl from Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah did not agree to that framework and forced the US-Iran MoU as the existing framework to be worked on.