Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold separate White House meetings with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, their visits formally tied to the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham but driven by urgent efforts to influence US strategy in the Iran and Ukraine wars. The encounters mark the first face-to-face talks between Trump and Netanyahu since joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, and come as Washington signals a diplomatic opening with Tehran while Kyiv presses for accelerated missile defence supplies.

According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu intends to present intelligence alleging that Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is accelerating nuclear weapons work, and to argue for a resumption of military pressure. Viewed from Washington, however, the White House has paused airstrikes and is pursuing negotiations, a shift that has generated what Trump described on Monday as a “little difference” with his Israeli counterpart. The strain was laid bare in April when Trump, during a phone call, called Netanyahu “fucking crazy” — an exchange later confirmed publicly — and the prime minister has since characterised the disagreements as tactical. Netanyahu’s domestic position adds urgency: he faces an election in late October and trails in opinion polls, with public anger still raw over the Hamas attack of October 2023 that triggered the Gaza war.

Zelenskyy arrives with a relationship that has warmed in recent months, buoyed by Ukrainian battlefield resilience and Trump’s announcement at the Ankara NATO summit that Washington would grant a licence for Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors. The Ukrainian leader said anti-ballistic defence and strategic cooperation were his “number-one priority”. He also intends to share intelligence with the administration alleging that Russia has provided satellite imagery to Iran for attacks on US bases in the Gulf — a claim Trump said he would raise with President Vladimir Putin but which he downplayed as “very unimpactful”. European diplomats note that Kyiv’s improved standing in Washington coincides with a shift among some right-wing figures previously sceptical of aid, though the US continues to supply weapons indirectly through European purchases rather than direct transfers.

The meetings unfold against a backdrop of interconnected conflicts. The Iran war, now in its fifth month, has failed to deliver the swift outcome Netanyahu reportedly promised Trump, and its economic fallout — including disruption to the Strait of Hormuz — has depressed the president’s approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections. Israeli officials also seek to address the US-Saudi civilian nuclear deal, the proposed sale of F-35 jets to Turkey, and the implementation of a US-brokered framework agreement with Lebanon. Both leaders will attend Graham’s funeral at Washington National Cathedral, a ceremony that underscores the late senator’s role as a conduit for hawkish foreign policy. No joint statements are expected, and the White House has indicated the discussions will be held without reporters present.