Trump tells Israel’s Netanyahu Iran talks must continue

US President Donald Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Wednesday that talks with Iran must continue. (@IsraeliPM)
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Updated 11 February 2026
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Trump tells Israel’s Netanyahu Iran talks must continue

  • Two leaders are meeting for seventh time in nearly 13 months
  • Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Wednesday that talks with Iran must continue, rebuffing the Israeli prime minister’s push for a tougher stance against Tehran.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” Trump said on social media after their three-hour meeting.
“If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” said Trump, adding a reminder of last year’s US strikes against Iran’s nuclear program.
Seeking to push for the Islamic republic’s ballistic missile program to be included in any deal, Netanyahu had rushed to Washington for his seventh meeting with Trump since the US leader returned to power.
Netanyahu’s office said that during the talks with Trump the Israeli premier had “insisted on the security needs of the state of Israel in relation to the negotiations” on Iran.
Trump has hinted at US military action against Iran following Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters, but at the same time Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.
Talks had been suspended after the US strikes on Iran’s atomic sites during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last July.

What does Netanyahu want?

The White House meeting was held behind closed doors, with Netanyahu slipping in via a side entrance without receiving the traditional honor guard. Trump and Netanyahu were seen shaking hands in a photograph released by the Israeli premier’s office.
Netanyahu said as he left for Washington his talks would “first and foremost” be about the Iran negotiations, while adding they would also discuss Gaza and other regional issues.
“I will present to the president our views regarding the principles for the negotiations,” he said in a video statement. Netanyahu’s office said he would highlight Iran’s missile arsenal.
Israel’s concerns came to a head during their unprecedented war last year, during which Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles at Israeli territory, striking both military and civilian areas.

What does Trump think?

While boosting hopes of a nuclear deal, Trump has also been dialing up the threat of possible US military action against Iran.
He warned in an interview with Axios news outlet Tuesday that he was “thinking” of sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump said. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”

What does Iran say?

So far, Iran has rejected expanding its talks with the United States beyond the issue of its nuclear program, though Washington also wants Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support for regional militant groups on the table.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Tehran would “not yield to excessive demands” on its nuclear program.
But he insisted his country was not “not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.”

‘Board of Peace’ and West Bank

Netanyahu’s visit will also include other issues, from Gaza to the West Bank.
He officially signed on as a member of Trump’s “Board of Peace” during a meeting earlier Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Israeli PM’s office said.
The group was originally meant to oversee the Gaza ceasefire but Trump is now positioning it as a possible rival to the United Nations.
The meeting also came amid growing international outrage over Israeli measures to tighten control of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners.


Kuwait airport targeted as Iran presses on with attacks on Gulf states

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Kuwait airport targeted as Iran presses on with attacks on Gulf states

KUWAIT CITY/DUBAI: Gulf nations on Sunday reported new missile and drone attacks, while Iran vowed to press on with strikes against neighboring countries as the war entered its second week.
Kuwait’s defense ministry and Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Aviation said that the country’s forces were “responding to a wave of hostile drones” that penetrated the country’s airspace.
“The fuel tanks of Kuwait International Airport were attacked by drones in a direct targeting of vital infrastructure,” the defense ministry spokesman said, according to a post by the Kuwaiti military on X.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense was also reporting a wave of drone attacks, saying 21 unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted and destroyed in the last four hours.

Major General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said in separate posts on X that 13 drones were intercepted and destroyed east of the national capital, Riyadh city, while eight drones were shot down just after entering Saudi air space.

Before midnight on Saturday, loud explosions were heard in Dubai, the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain’s Manama, with attacks reported in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to production.
The attacks came despite Iran’s president earlier apologizing to Gulf countries for earlier strikes. He had said they would no longer be targeted unless strikes were launched from their territory first.
Hours later, Iran said it would continue conducting strikes on sites in Gulf countries which were “at the disposal of the enemy.”
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rare televised address that the Emirates were in “a period of war” and “will emerge stronger” from it.
Dubai authorities said Saturday evening one person had been killed by debris from an “aerial interception,” adding they were a Pakistani national.

Dubai airport closed, reopens 

Earlier in the day, Dubai closed its main airport — the world’s busiest for international traffic — after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby.
The government said there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception,” without directly mentioning the airport. It said there were no injuries.
The Flightradar24 tracking website earlier showed planes circling above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.
In a statement since deleted from X, Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, had announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai until further notice, but later said it had resumed operations.
The UAE, a US ally and home to American military installations, has been the most heavily targeted nation in the Gulf during the war.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Defense said that of the 16 ballistic missiles fired at the country on Saturday, all but one had been intercepted, with that missile falling into the sea.
Of the 121 drones detected, 119 were brought down, while two fell within Emirati territory.
The barrage brings the number of ballistic missiles detected by the UAE since the start of the war last Saturday to 221, the defense ministry said, with the number of drones surpassing 1,300.
Flights from Dubai’s main airport had partially resumed on Monday despite daily drone attacks targeting sites in the UAE.
Last Saturday, four employees were injured and an airport terminal damaged as the war broke out following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel over the past week, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.

Relentless air threats

Elsewhere in the Gulf on Saturday, Qatar’s defense ministry said its military had intercepted two missile attacks targeting the country.

Kuwait said Saturday night it had intercepted seven drones since dawn, with the attacks resulting “only in material damage from falling debris.”
And Bahrain said it has intercepted and 92 missiles and 151 drones since the start of the “brutal Iranian aggression.”
AFP journalists heard an explosion Saturday night in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, as authorities said one person was injured after rocket shrapnel fell in a public street.
In Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry said it had destroyed three ballistic missiles heading toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American troops, as well as 17 drones over the Shaybah oil field in the southeast.
Kuwait also reported intercepting a drone, while the country’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its production of crude due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for Gulf hydrocarbons.
Further north, Jordan accused Iran of directly targeting sites in the kingdom, saying Tehran had fired 119 missiles and drones in the past week.
“These missiles and drones were targeting vital installations inside Jordan and were not passing through our territories,” said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hayari.

(With AFP)