Donald Trump says Netanyahu 'knows who the boss is': Axios

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as early as next week, US President Donald Trump told Axios on Saturday, adding that the prime minister “knows who the boss is” in their relationship.

The possible meeting comes amid reports of tensions between the two leaders over efforts to end the war against Iran that the US and Israel started in late February.

“We get along very good. (Netanyahu) knows who the boss is,” Donald Trump said in a brief phone interview with Axios, referring to himself.

An Israeli official told the US media outlet that next week might be too soon for the visit because Trump will be traveling to Turkey for a NATO summit on July 7-8.

“It might take place the week after,” the official told Axios.

Netanyahu’s office said the two men spoke on Friday and agreed to meet “soon” in the United States.

Washington is Israel’s closest ally, but Trump has been publicly critical of Netanyahu in recent weeks after Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened peace talks with Iran.

The two men last met on February 11 in Washington.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called again for his country to increase its military autonomy and reduce its reliance on support from the United States, according to a statement released by his office.

“I deeply appreciate the support we have received from our American friends, but we need to break free from dependency and build our own independent armaments network,” the premier told reserve officers on a training course in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu was speaking on June 18, a day after the US and Iran agreed an initial deal to end the Middle East war, which has been fiercely opposed in Israel.

“Today I say: We need our own independent armaments network. We must manufacture our own armaments,” Netanyahu said.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has received more than $300 billion, in US economic and military assistance, according to figures from the Council on Foreign Relations, far more than any other country has received since 1946.

Under an agreement signed in 2016 and in force since 2019, it receives financial assistance for the purchase of around $3.8 billion of weapons a year, accounting for around 15 percent of the defence budget. That deal runs until 2028.

The Israeli premier has previously said he wanted to end Israel’s reliance on US support.