Netanyahu's Meeting With Trump Canceled: No Appointment From White House

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his planned trip to the US. According to a report by Axios, White House officials were surprised to read in the Israeli media that there would be a meeting between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. The report stated that 'there is no scheduled meeting.' Trump's weekend schedule includes attending the World Cup final on Sunday. Netanyahu has visited the Oval Office six times during Trump's second term, more than any other leader or bloc representative. Netanyahu's office informed the Israeli Air Force to prepare the government plane and sent an advance team of protocol and security officials to Washington. However, on Thursday morning, Netanyahu's office announced that the planned trip had been canceled. Two White House officials told Axios that Netanyahu wanted to meet with Trump, but a meeting was never confirmed or added to the president's schedule. One official said, “Our impression was that Bibi was trying to create a meeting.” This development came after Netanyahu criticized Trump's intention to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey in an interview with Fox News just before Trump's visit to Ankara. A White House official told Axios that Trump was “very angry” about the interview. Another official said Trump thought Netanyahu had “no right to comment on this issue.” During Trump's visit to Turkey, Israel provided the US with intelligence that a senior Iranian official had told his counterpart that Iran should try to assassinate the US president while he was in Ankara.