Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US President Donald Trump on Monday that he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, presenting him with a letter to that effect during a meeting at the White House.
“I want to present you, Mr President, with a letter that I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It nominates you for the Peace Prize, which you well deserve,” Netanyahu said. “I didn’t know that,” Trump said, taking the letter. “Wow. Thank you very much. Coming from you, it means a lot.”
On Monday, Netanyahu visited the White House for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump since the president ordered the US to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
On June 23, Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a truce that ended 12 days of the war. At the time, the US president expressed confidence that the truce between Israel and Iran would be “everlasting.” According to The Guardian, Trump is expected to insist that Netanyahu agree to a ceasefire in Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Second nuclear round with Tehran
Netanyahu makes no secret of his intention to seek “greater resolve” from Trump in responding to a hypothetical nuclear threat from Tehran. This is especially true given that, according to Tel Aviv, Iran’s nuclear programme has not suffered “irreparable damage” and the country will be able to resume its previous pace of uranium enrichment within six months at most.
Netanyahu sees himself as the winner in this conflict, as he has fulfilled his main promises to the electorate and “dealt a crushing blow” to a strategic enemy. At the same time, the Israelis were unable to achieve all their goals, underestimating their opponent’s mobilisation capabilities. This means that sooner or later, a “second round” will come.
Tel Aviv expects Trump to agree with its concerns and give the green light to new pre-emptive operations against Tehran and its key allies in the region. This is especially true of the Yemeni Houthis, who remain the only Iranian proxy forces still systematically firing rockets into the Jewish state.
The Israeli General Staff had previously announced a series of large-scale air strikes on targets in Yemen, dubbed “Black Flag.” However, the aircraft quickly returned to their home bases, deciding to limit themselves to “warning shots” until Netanyahu’s trip was over.
