Netanyahu ‘obviously shocked, embarrassed’ on live TV

Trump made the unexpected announcement during the televised meeting in Washington on Monday.

“It’ll go on Saturday,” the US president said of the planned talks.

“We have a very big meeting and we’ll see what can happen. I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious — and the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with,” he said of the prospect of launching military aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Trump even went as far as claiming that the Israeli regime would not seek to be involved in such a scenario either “if they can avoid it.”

“Hopefully those talks will be successful,” Trump concluded.

‘Shock written all over their faces’

According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, the statement visibly unsettled the Israeli delegation, who were unaware of such upcoming negotiations.

A senior political source told the daily that while Israeli officials were now trying to downplay the moment by insisting they had anticipated such a move, in reality, “Israel had no prior knowledge of an agreement between Trump and the Iranians to launch talks.”

An Israeli official present at the scene said, “The shock was written all over their faces.”

Netanyahu reportedly responded to the announcement by demanding the complete dismantling, not merely freezing, of Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure — which vetted international nuclear experts have found no sign of diversion towards military purposes.

In the meantime, another source confirmed that Netanyahu had been told, during the meeting, that the Israeli regime would be involved in shaping the content of the negotiations, calling this “a very positive aspect” contrary to the surprise.

The announcement of indirect US-Iran talks came amid reports that the Sultanate of Oman had resumed its role as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington.

Meanwhile, reports said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US regional envoy Steve Witkoff would hold indirect discussions in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday.

Tehran has consistently emphasized that any talks had to be grounded in mutual respect and complete lifting of Washington’s illegal and unilateral sanctions, particularly those imposed under Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign.

Trump’s sudden announcement, meanwhile, overshadowed what was initially billed as a Netanyahu’s trip to discuss various issues, including trade and tariff affairs.

Israeli media later acknowledged that the true purpose of Netanyahu’s hastily arranged visit was for the White House to brief the Israeli prime minister in person about the upcoming US-Iran talks.

‘Returned humiliated, empty-handed’

Yedioth Ahronoth, another Israeli paper, said Netanyahu had arrived in Washington expecting progress on a 17-percent-tariff Trump had imposed on Israeli goods. Instead, the Israeli official “received a harsh and even somewhat humiliating” response and left without any tangible achievements.

It wrote, “The prime minister did not get the gift he was hoping for — a declaration from Trump that he would reduce or cancel the 17% tariff on Israeli imports.”

Trump instead praised Netanyahu for lowering tariffs on American goods and urged other parties to follow suit, promising only to “keep talking” on the matter.

On issues concerning the Gaza Strip, where the regime has been waging a genocidal war since October 2023 and also where scores of Israeli captives are being held, Trump made no major policy announcements either.

The Israeli paper noted that Trump gave only vague comments about the captives and said little beyond expressing hope that the war in Gaza “would end soon.”

While apparently facing Netanyahu with several such surprises, though, Trump used the meeting to highlight Washington’s military aid to Israel, stating, “The US gives Israel $4 billion a year” — one billion in addition to the annual American aid.

The American president also said his controversial plan, announced earlier this year, to make the US “own” Gaza was “back on the table,” and noted that Netanyahu had “convinced him” some countries, reportedly approached by the Israeli spy agency Mossad, were open to receiving displaced Gazans.

‘Most failed meeting ever’

The Israeli Walla website described the event as “possibly the most failed meeting ever” between a US president and an Israeli prime minister.

“Netanyahu found himself in the Oval Office in a situation he hadn’t anticipated. Trump threw complex political, security, and economic issues at him, and he failed to respond to any of them effectively,” the outlet said.

The Maariv daily also described the trip as ending with an “embarrassing event” that raised more questions than it answered. It reported that Netanyahu, rather than steering the agenda, ended up being a “mere prop” in, what it called, Trump’s stage-managed return to foreign policy relevance.

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