Attention is turning to the possibility of holding a new meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in the coming days, at a time when Trump’s statements and the course of relations between the two sides reveal increasing discrepancies in prominent regional files, despite the continued political coordination between them.

According to a report by journalist Barak Ravid on the Axios website, Trump said that Netanyahu requested a meeting at the White House, indicating that the meeting may be held as soon as next week after his return from the NATO summit.

Trump said in a short phone interview with Axios: “Our relationship is very good. Netanyahu knows who the president is,” referring to himself.

It is expected that this will be the first meeting between the two leaders since their remarkable meeting in the White House Situations Room last February, when Netanyahu presented his plan to launch a joint war against Iran.

However, an Israeli official explained that next week may be too early to hold the visit, due to Trump’s trip to Turkey to participate in the NATO summit on July 7 and 8, and it is likely that the meeting will take place during the following week.

For his part, Netanyahu’s office announced that the Prime Minister made a phone call to Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

The office added that Netanyahu stressed during the call that “the United States is the guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values ​​the close relationship between the two countries,” noting that Netanyahu and Trump agreed to hold a meeting soon in the United States.

But the report indicated that figures close to Trump have become more skeptical and disappointed with Netanyahu since their meeting in February.

An American official was quoted as saying: “Many of Trump’s closest advisors believe that Bibi was wrong about everything.”

The report added that Trump attacked Netanyahu during a phone call last month due to the Israeli escalation in Lebanon, and described the Israeli prime minister as “crazy,” and accused him of “ungratefulness.”

He pointed out that these tensions deepened the division within the Republican Party regarding Israel and the war, with influential figures in the “MAGA” movement, such as Tucker Carlson, accusing Trump of becoming subject to Netanyahu’s influence.

The report explained that the goals of Trump and Netanyahu in the areas of national security and foreign policy, in addition to their domestic political interests, have diverged during the past two months against the backdrop of war and other regional issues.

Despite Netanyahu’s reservations, Trump last month signed a memorandum of understanding extending the ceasefire with Iran and launching a new round of nuclear negotiations.

Trump also put pressure on Netanyahu to limit the Israeli army’s operations in Lebanon, after the battles there became an obstacle to talks with Iran, and also pushed him to sign a framework agreement stipulating an initial withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The report believed that a meeting at the White House would be of great importance to Netanyahu as he launches his campaign for the Israeli elections scheduled for October, at a time when opinion polls show him lagging behind his competitors.

In a related context, Trump told Axios that he was following the funeral ceremony for former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the war during a joint American-Israeli operation.

He added that the Iranians are “begging to reach an agreement,” but pointed out that the two sides decided to take a week-long break from the talks until the end of Khamenei’s funeral ceremony, stressing that during this period “neither party will fire at the other.”

“They’re all there. One shot and we can take them all out, but we won’t, because then we’ll have no one left to negotiate with,” Trump said.

He added that he was surprised to see some Iranians crying during the funeral ceremony, after he believed that Iranians hated Khamenei, before commenting by saying: “Maybe they are fake tears.”

These statements reflect that the personal relationship between Trump and Netanyahu still exists, but it has become governed by increasing differences in the priorities of both parties, which makes any upcoming meeting between them a focus of attention in light of the transformations taking place in the region.