• The White House meeting focuses on broadening negotiations with Iran to include ballistic missiles and support for militant groups.
  • Talks follow indirect U.S.-Iran discussions in Oman and come after the June 2025 Israel-Iran war, which saw U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
  • Stalled negotiations risk escalating tensions that could disrupt Gulf oil flows and global energy markets.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House on February 11, 2026, for his seventh meeting with President Donald Trump since the start of Trump's second term in January. The session, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET, primarily aims to expand nuclear negotiations with Iran to cover its ballistic missiles and backing for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, according to people familiar with the matter. Netanyahu met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner upon arrival on February 10, receiving updates on recent indirect talks in Oman, and was set to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the Trump session.

Trump has combined diplomacy with military pressure, maintaining U.S. forces in the Gulf as leverage following the June 2025 12-day Israel-Iran war, where U.S. strikes targeted Iranian nuclear sites, killing nearly 1,000 in Iran. In remarks ahead of the meeting, Trump stated Iran "wants to make a deal" but warned of "steep consequences" if no agreement is reached on nuclear weapons and missiles. This approach mixes pressure—initial threats over Iran's January 2026 protests—with renewed diplomacy after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.

Netanyahu seeks "essential principles" for talks, urging no open-ended process and Western readiness to walk away; experts note Israel's push counters Iran's potential stalling on non-nuclear issues. Iran insists on uranium enrichment rights for sanctions relief and has blocked IAEA inspections of bombed sites, with recent satellite imagery showing activity at damaged nuclear sites, heightening fears of reconstitution. Gaza also features on the agenda, with Netanyahu highlighting stalls in phase two of a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan over Hamas disarmament.

No direct company involvement is reported, but stalled talks risk escalating tensions that could disrupt Gulf oil flows and global energy prices, given U.S. military presence and Iran's missile threats. Iran's internal economic woes from protests and sanctions amplify pressure for a deal, potentially stabilizing its regime via relief but preserving military capabilities. Analysts warn a narrow nuclear deal could embolden Iran domestically without addressing broader threats, while experts like Naysan Rafati predict "building a tunnel" via diplomacy, but Sima Shein cautions that narrow pacts stabilize Iran without curbing threats.

Short-term, talks may set parameters, but mistrust persists—Iran's foreign minister cites it as a "serious challenge," while Netanyahu pushes limits on missiles and militants; failure risks military action "like last time." Long-term, a broad deal could enhance Middle East security, but Trump demands "no nuclear weapons, no missiles." Attempts to reach Iranian officials for comment were unsuccessful, and Netanyahu's urgency reflects Israeli concerns over U.S. envoy alignment, with stakeholders including Israeli citizens vulnerable to missiles and proxies, and Iranians facing regime crackdowns and economic hardship.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the date of Netanyahu's arrival; it was February 11, 2026, not February 10.