Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are each scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, according to official statements from their offices and a White House official. Both leaders will also attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch congressional advocate for Israel and Ukraine who died earlier this month. Viewed from Jerusalem, Netanyahu aims to secure U.S. backing for expanded military operations against Iran and to manage a relationship frayed by tactical disagreements over the war’s prosecution. Ukrainian sources indicate Zelensky will use the visit to advance a proposed air ceasefire with Russia and to refocus Washington’s diplomatic attention on the conflict in Europe.

The Netanyahu-Trump encounter proceeds against a backdrop of renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran. Since mid-July, U.S. Central Command has conducted sustained airstrikes on Iranian military infrastructure, while Tehran has responded with attacks on American assets in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. According to Israeli officials, the government seeks Trump’s approval to strike previously untouched targets in Iran, including energy installations, a move that could broaden the conflict. However, the alliance has shown public strain: Trump, in interviews with U.S. media, recounted berating Netanyahu over Israeli operations in Lebanon that he viewed as undermining diplomatic efforts with Iran. “Are you f---ing crazy? What are you f---ing doing?” Trump quoted himself as saying, later describing Netanyahu as a “very difficult guy.” Despite this, Trump has signalled Israel could quickly join the offensive if he orders it, while Israeli defence minister Israel Katz threatened a “devastating” strike should Iran attack first. Also on the agenda is Lebanon, where a U.S.-brokered trilateral framework signed in June intended to de-escalate the Israel-Hezbollah front has stalled; Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, after his own Washington visit this week, insisted on a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied zones.

For Zelensky, the meeting provides an opening to re-engage a U.S. administration whose focus has shifted to the Persian Gulf. Ukrainian and U.S. officials, according to a source, are refining a proposal for an aerial ceasefire to present to Moscow, hoping Russia’s economic strains from persistent Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries will make President Vladimir Putin more receptive. Past ceasefire offers were rejected by the Kremlin. Zelensky’s talks with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner this week underscored Kyiv’s push for a new peace framework that accounts for the battlefield situation. The inclusion of Graham’s memorial is symbolically significant: the senator visited Ukraine ten times since Russia’s full-scale invasion and was a key voice for sanctions and military aid. His death removes a prominent Congressional bridge between Kyiv and Washington’s conservative circles.

On the domestic front, Netanyahu travels ahead of Israel’s October elections, with polls showing his Likud party trailing amid lingering public anger over the 2023 Hamas attacks. Both leaders thus carry urgent political timelines into their White House sessions. The state of the dossier remains fluid: military escalation in the Gulf continues, the Lebanon track is frozen, and diplomatic pathways for Ukraine depend on Moscow’s next moves. No joint statements or decisions have been indicated; the primary known outcome will be the leaders’ physical presence at Graham’s memorial, a gathering that underscores the entangled wartime priorities of Washington’s closest partners.