A diminished Bibi arrives for his moment with Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Oval Office on Tuesday for his eighth meeting with Donald Trump since the president returned to office — but he's arriving at a low point for their relationship. Since late February, when the two leaders appeared fully aligned on Middle East policy, the relationship has deteriorated significantly. The breaking point centers on Iran: Trump recently paused U.S. military strikes and is now pursuing direct negotiations with Tehran, a move Netanyahu had opposed. Netanyahu was largely kept in the dark about Trump's thinking, forcing Israel to prepare for multiple military scenarios. The Israeli leader has also been unable to sway Trump on other fronts — including the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey and provisions in a new Saudi Arabian nuclear deal requiring Saudi normalization with Israel. According to Axios, Trump has privately expressed frustration with Netanyahu, who now relies on Secretary of State Marco Rubio rather than Trump himself for policy updates. Facing an Israeli election in three months, Netanyahu desperately needs Trump's public endorsement, which the U.S. president has so far withheld.

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