World
Trump says Netanyahu ‘knows who the boss is,’ will meet with him as soon as next week
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “get along very good” and that the Israeli premier “knows who the boss is,” in a brief phone interview with Axios.
Trump also confirmed that he would soon meet with the Israeli leader, saying that Netanyahu had asked him for a meeting at the White House, and that it could take place as early as next week after the NATO summit in Turkey.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Friday that the two leaders spoke on the phone and “agreed to meet soon in the US.”
An Israeli official told Axios that the meeting “might take place the week after [next]” due to scheduling difficulties.
“During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations,” Netanyahu’s office said Friday.
The upcoming meeting will be the first between the two leaders since February, when Netanyahu presented Trump with plans for their joint military operation against Iran.
It comes amid ongoing tensions over Washington’s peace negotiations with Iran, which Israel fears will lead to a deal that will be detrimental to its security. Last month, after weeks of negotiations, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and undertake 60 days of negotiations on a final deal covering Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel was not a party to the deal and is not involved in the resulting negotiations, but its fight with Iran has also paused.
Trump also told Axios that he is following the ongoing funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israel strikes on February 28.
Claiming that the Iranians are “begging to make a deal,” Trump said the two sides put negotiations on pause to allow for the days-long funeral to take place, during which the American president claims neither party will attack the other.
“They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with,” Trump reportedly said.
Adding that he was surprised to see Iranians crying at the funeral, Trump mused, “Maybe it’s fake tears.”
PM hails US as ‘greatest force for liberty’
Meanwhile, Netanyahu marked US Independence Day by praising the country as “the greatest force for liberty the modern world has known” and hailing the US-Israel alliance as one “built not only on shared interests, it’s built on shared values.”
In an English-language video message addressing Trump and US citizens, Netanyahu said that “freedom is never cheap. It must be continually purchased. It must be continually defended,” adding that “when America and Israel stand together, freedom stands stronger.”
Referring to the recent joint US-Israel campaign against Iran, Netanyahu said, “The tyrants we face chant, ‘Death to America, death to Israel.’ They think freedom is weak. They think democracies are weak. They’re wrong about our two democracies.”
Happy 4th of July America!
Happy 250th Independence Day! ???????? pic.twitter.com/VPHw2sSMcU— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 4, 2026
Netanyahu also reflected on the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, noting that it coincides with the 250th anniversary of US independence.
“Exactly 50 years ago, as America celebrated its bicentennial, Israel carried out one of the greatest hostage rescue missions in history,” he said, recalling that his brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, was the only Israeli soldier killed during the operation.
“This is what the brave soldiers of Israel and America have done again and again in these 50 years,” Netanyahu declared. “Together, with God’s help, freedom will triumph over tyranny.”
