Trump expresses frustration with Netanyahu before White House meeting

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that US President Donald Trump signalled irritation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of a White House meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Speaking to Fox News hours before the planned Oval Office talks, Trump responded to reports that Netanyahu intended to raise intelligence about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, described in the report as an underground nuclear site. Trump said he did not need Netanyahu to brief him on the matter and suggested the Israeli leader was publicising it to keep the US engaged.

The meeting comes as Trump says Washington and Tehran are pursuing renewed diplomacy after a recent 13-day escalation. According to Al Jazeera, Trump has also repeated threats of further strikes, including against Pickaxe Mountain and Iranian civilian infrastructure, if negotiations collapse. The outlet places the talks in the context of a broader five-month conflict and earlier tensions over a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June that paused fighting, reopened the Strait of Hormuz and ended a US naval blockade.

Al Jazeera says Netanyahu’s government opposed that arrangement and has favoured continued military pressure aimed at regime change in Iran. The report also notes US media coverage has fed perceptions that Netanyahu has urged Trump toward military action, while the conflict remains unpopular with many Americans and with some Republicans.

Despite sharper public comments from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Al Jazeera reports that US military backing for Israel has not substantially changed. Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News over the weekend, said decisions on Iran were ultimately Trump’s, while reiterating Israel’s demand that Iran end its nuclear programme.