WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has claimed that Israel “wouldn’t survive” without the United States, hours before a crunch meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Michigan, Trump claimed Israel would have been “terminated” without US intervention against Iran, saying military strikes on Tehran’s nuclear program prevented destruction to America’s closest ally in the Middle East.“You know who wouldn’t survive without us? Israel. Bibi’s coming, he’ll tell you,” Trump said. “If I didn’t get involved, and I didn’t blow up those nuclear, essentially, soon to be nuclear weapons to dust, Israel would have been terminated months ago.”AWhite House official saidTrump would “discuss the conflict in Iran, progress with the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon, and expanding the Abraham Accords”.According to a source briefed on the matter who spoke to the Financial Times, the Israeli prime minister is going to Washington in “listening mode”, despite his desire to expand military action in Iran.”Netanyahu wants it to be about more than just Hormuz,” the source said.Netanyahu is expected to present Trump with intelligence alleging that Iran is expanding nuclear activity at its secretive Pickaxe Mountain facility and is not negotiating in good faith over its nuclear program.According to a report by the New York Post citing a source in Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s team will share the evidence during the White House meeting on Tuesday, where the conflict with Iran and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions are expected to dominate discussions.Netanyahu will also raise concerns about Turkey asking to buy F-35 fighter jets from the US, as he believes it will lessen Israel’s military advantage over other countries in the region, the source added.During his speech in Michigan later on Monday, the US President said he’s making the “largest-ever investment in the United States Armed Forces”, which he called the strongest military in the world.Trump defended the US campaign against Iran, saying it fundamentally altered the balance of power in the region.He added: “We’re winning big time with the Islamic Republic of Iran. We’re ensuring that they’re never having a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. If you understood the power of the nuclear weapons, you’d understand exactly what I was saying.”Trump called Iran “the bully of the Middle East”, adding: “You can’t bribe them, you gotta beat them, and we’re beating the hell out of them. We’ll see how it turns out. Right now there are very friendly negotiations going on.”Trump said the US destroyed Tehran’s navy and air force, while diminishing its drone and missile manufacturing capabilities.While he touted the US military strikes on Iran as a major success, the audience was notably less enthusiastic about his remarks on the war than they were about immigration and the southern border.Trump was in Milford to bolster support among auto workers and voters in the key battleground state by highlighting his administration’s efforts to revive domestic manufacturing, expand auto industry jobs and strengthen the economy ahead of the midterm elections.Trump’s remarks came one day before he is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Trump said he and Netanyahu remain “pretty close” on Iran ahead of their scheduled meeting Tuesday, though he acknowledged minor differences without elaborating.The US and Iran halted attacks over the weekend, but Trump has repeatedly warned that military action could resume if the talks fail. The president told reporters Iran had reached out seeking renewed negotiations.“Iran took a beating over the last 14 days, and they asked us very nicely, ‘Please stop. Let’s meet,’” Trump said. “If we don’t make a deal, we go back to the same thing.”The president also brushed aside concerns raised by Netanyahu over the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, signaling that he would not allow foreign leaders to dictate US arms sales.
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