Jul 29, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House Tuesday as the U.S. leader sought to avoid renewed bombing in Iran and instead laid the ground for further diplomacy after a pause in tit-for-tat strikes.

“I think we have a very strong position right now,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday. He reiterated his threat to bomb Iran’s major bridges if no agreement can be reached, but added “if I can avoid doing that, I’d like to do that.”

Trump’s comments came four days after the U.S. ended roughly two weeks of strikes on the Islamic Republic. Hostilities had resumed when peace negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz broke down. In turn, Iran paused retaliatory fire on Gulf states.