Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump yesterday, largely about Iran.
Since the meeting, oil prices have come under pressure as Trump, and now Netanyahu, have emphasized negotiations.
Netanyahu said he was skeptical there would be success but said that Iran likely realized they made a mistake and didn't reach a deal last time.
Here is the statement from Netanyahu:
"I have just concluded a short but important visit to Washington, during which I spoke with our great friend, President Trump. We have a close, genuine, and open relationship. The discussions covered several issues, but focused primarily on the negotiations with Iran. The president believes that the Iranians now understand who they are dealing with. I think the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time by not reaching an agreement, could lead them to accept terms that would make it possible to achieve a good deal. I want to say clearly: I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of reaching any agreement with Iran. However, I made it clear that if an agreement is reached, it must include the components that are important to us, to the State of Israel, and in my view to the entire international community: not only the nuclear issue, but also ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional proxies. It was an excellent conversation. Of course, we also touched on Gaza, the broader region, and other general matters. In any case, this was another discussion with a great friend of the State of Israel — a president like no other"
WTI crude oil is down $1.49 to $63.19 today and I'd estimate there is still a $2-4 premium in the oil market around the potential for a war with Iran.
Update: This statement was later changed. Here is a redline of the differnces:
I have just concluded a short but important visit to Washington, during which I spoke with our great friend, President Trump. We have a close, genuine, and open relationship. The discussions covered several issues, but focused primarily on the negotiations with Iran.
President Trump believes that the Iranians now have already learned who they are dealing with.
I think the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time by not reaching an agreement, could lead them to accept terms that would make it possible to achieve a good deal.
He thinks that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time when they didn’t reach an agreement, could create the conditions for achieving a good deal.
I want to say clearly: He wanted to hear my opinion.
I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of reaching any agreement with Iran. However, I made it clear that
I won’t hide from you that I expressed general skepticism about the nature of any agreement with Iran. But I said that
if an agreement is indeed reached, it must include the components that are important to us, to the State of Israel, and in my view to the entire international community
the elements that are very important to us – to Israel – and in my view not only to Israel.
not only the nuclear issue, but also ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional proxies the Iranian proxies in the region.
It was an excellent conversation.
Of course, we also touched on Gaza, the broader region, and other general matters. In any case, this was another discussion with a great friend of the State of Israel — a president like no other.
That essentially concluded the conversation, I would say – although it also touched on Gaza and the region as a whole.
That's an interesting switch.
