Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met with US National Security Advisor John Bolton Sunday evening over dinner at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem. The meeting was also attended by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer.
At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu turned to the American advisor and said: "I look forward to discussing with you a whole array of topics, but the most important one is how to continue to roll back Iran’s aggression in the region and to make sure that they never have nuclear weapons."
Netanyahu complimented Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, and a right-wing member of the Trump administration, who pushed Trump to cancel the nuclear deal with Iran: "Ambassador Bolton, John, it’s a pleasure to see you."
"We’ve been friends for many years, and I can testify that in and out of office, you’ve been a tremendous friend—tremendous friend of Israel, tremendous champion of the American-Israel alliance," he said.
"It’s particularly momentous to welcome you here, after the momentous decisions of President Trump, to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and get out of the terrible Iran deal," The prime minister added.
US National Security Advisor Bolton replied that "It’s a great honor to be here. It’s great to see you again and talk about the US-Israel relationship."
"It’s been an exciting year and a half in the Trump administration with some of the things you’ve mentioned. Obviously we’ve got great challenges, for Israel, for the United States and the whole world," said Bolton.
The Iran nuclear weapons program, the ballistic missile programs are right at the top of the list. So I’m delighted to be here, and look forward to our discussions," Bolton added.