Trump Says Netanyahu Knows Who's Boss, Plans Meeting Next Week

US President Donald Trump told Axios on Saturday that he will likely meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week or the week after, following Netanyahu's request for the meeting. Trump said, "We get along great. He knows who's boss," referring to Netanyahu. This will be their first official meeting since a tense February encounter in the situation room, where Netanyahu presented a joint war plan against Iran. Since then, relations have deteriorated, with Trump’s circle expressing deep disappointment in Netanyahu. An American official noted that many of Trump’s close advisers believe Netanyahu "messed up everything." Last month, Trump even called Netanyahu "crazy" during a phone call about the Lebanon escalation and accused him of ingratitude.

Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the two leaders spoke on Friday, with Netanyahu congratulating Trump on the 250th anniversary of US independence, and they agreed to meet soon. In the same Axios interview, Trump commented on the funeral of former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, claiming Iranians are "begging for a deal." He said both sides paused talks for a week during the mourning period and committed to no hostilities. Trump also remarked on the funeral attendees, saying, "One shot and we could have wiped them all out, but we won’t because then we’d have no one to negotiate with."