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President Donald Trump said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit the United States as early as next week. The potential visit comes amid heightened regional tensions, as fighting in Gaza continues and dozens of hostages remain in captivity.
"I spoke to him today," Trump said, referring to Netanyahu, "and I think he's going to be coming to our country sometime in the not too distant future, maybe next week."
Speaking to reporters outside Air Force One, Trump was asked by a reporter about progress on his plan to relocate Gazan Palestinians in order to rehabilitate the strip. Trump said: It's been a problem for many years, many, many decades. It's been a big problem we have. I've met with, as you know, some of the hostages, it's a terrible situation. But if you notice, hostages are being released now, and that's happened only since I got involved. So we have hostages being released, quite a few. Actually, we're still committed to the relocation. I'd like to get as many hostages as we can."
Trump also addressed Iran, saying he believes Tehran may be willing to reengage diplomatically. “I think Iran is interested in starting direct talks,” he said, without elaborating on any formal plans.
His comments came shortly after Sky News Arabia reported that such talks could begin within three weeks in Oman, a country that has previously served as a mediator between Washington and Tehran. Earlier Thursday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel “does not rule out a diplomatic path to preventing a nuclear Iran,” but emphasized that the country would act if necessary to protect itself.
Trump’s phone call with Netanyahu on Thursday also coincided with an announcement by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that his country intends to withdraw from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Orbán made the announcement following Netanyahu’s arrival in Budapest, where the two leaders held a series of meetings and are scheduled to have a private dinner on Friday.
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Hungary’s decision drew praise from Netanyahu’s office, which called it a diplomatic breakthrough. “Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC is a major win for Israel,” said a senior official in the prime minister’s delegation. “It’s the first country to take this step, and we hope others will follow.”
Orbán’s chief of staff said the ICC had become a “political tribunal,” and cited its recent moves against Israel as a primary reason for Hungary’s exit. Israeli officials said Netanyahu personally lobbied Orbán to take the step, leveraging what they described as a “strong and special relationship” between the leaders.
The trip to Hungary has drawn domestic criticism in Israel, as it coincides with renewed violence in Gaza and the continued captivity of 59 hostages. Netanyahu’s office defended the timing, saying the visit was scheduled in coordination with his legal obligations and included key diplomatic engagements.
Israeli officials also said Hungary had agreed in principle to move its embassy to Jerusalem, though no timetable has been announced.