BICOM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump in New York last night to discuss the Iran nuclear deal.

Speaking before the meeting, Netanyahu said to Trump: “I look forward to discussing with you how we can address together what you rightly called the terrible nuclear deal with Iran and how to roll back Iran’s growing aggression in the region, especially in Syria.” Following the meeting, Netanyahu said “there is an American willingness to fix the deal, and I presented a certain course of action how to do it”.

Trump said last week that Iran was violating the spirit of the deal and repeated his previous assertions about its flaws. Ahead of a meeting between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the nuclear agreement was “essential” and scrapping it would launch a regional arms race. President Rohani told CNN yesterday that the US would pay a “high cost” if it withdrew from the nuclear deal and “chip away at international trust placed in the Unites States of America.”

Trump and Netanyahu also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Netanyahu said he “agreed with [Trump’s] willingness to reach peace with the Palestinians, and I insist on our vital national interests, including security.” Trump said “Peace between the Palestinians and Israel would be a fantastic achievement, and we are giving it an absolute go. I think Israel would like to see it. I think the Palestinians would like to see it. I can tell you the Trump administration would like to see it. So we’re working very hard on it.”

Trump’s envoy for International negotiations Jason Greenblatt addressed a UN meeting of aid donors in New York and provided some insight to the White House’s approach to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. He said:

“It is no secret that our approach to these discussions departs from some of the usual orthodoxy – for after years of well-meaning attempts to negotiate an end to this conflict, we have all learned some valuable lessons. Instead of working to impose a solution from the outside, we are giving the parties space to make their own decisions about their future. Instead of laying blame for the conflict at the feet of one party or the other, we are focused on implementing existing agreements and unlocking new areas of cooperation which benefit both Palestinians and Israelis,”

World leaders are gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly and Prime Minister Netanyahu also met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, in particular in the field of hi-tech. He also met with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly today at 6pm UK time.