Netanyahu praises first meeting with Trump since launching Iran war

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had an “excellent” meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, their first sit-down since launching a joint war against Iran and it offered Netanyahu a chance to smooth out strains in their relationship.

The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was “positive and productive," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Trump, in a social media posting several hours after the talks, called it a “very good meeting” where “many important subjects were discussed” but offered no further details.

The face-to-face talks come as both leaders face growing pressures at home.

Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump.

Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.

Later on Tuesday, Iran shattered a brief period of calm in the war by launching multiple ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East, the ...