Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump he nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, using a visit to the White House to further cement the pair’s relationship as the US presses for a ceasefire in Gaza. “He’s forging peace as we speak,” Netanyahu told reporters at the start of a dinner with Trump and other top officials on Monday. “I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee.” “Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful,” Trump said. Netanyahu is not the first foreign leader to nominate Trump, who has long coveted a Nobel. Last month, Pakistan said it would nominate the US leader, underscoring how foreign leaders understand the best way to get what they want is to shower him with praise. In his letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, dated 1 July, Netanyahu said Trump’s efforts had “brought about dramatic change and created new opportunities to expand the circle of peace and normalization.” Netanyahu cited the Abraham Accords, which saw the likes of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain formalize ties with Israel during Trump’s first term. Trump has long expressed irritation about the fact that his first-term predecessor, Barack Obama, won the Nobel Prize in 2009 — a controversial decision that came before Obama surged US troops in Afghanistan. Netanyahu’s visit to the White House — his third since Trump took office in January — comes as the two leaders also take a victory lap on the heels of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. The US joined Israel’s military campaign against Iran and carried out a series of missile strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump claimed the sites were “obliterated” but damage assessments are continuing and the whereabouts of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains unclear. Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end the fighting and is now pressuring the Islamic Republic to return to negotiations. At the dinner, Trump said the US and Iran were set to meet soon and reiterated that he’s open to lifting sanctions on Iran. His envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters that the US and Iran would meet within the next week. “I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off, give them a chance at rebuilding,” Trump said at the dinner with Netanyahu. “Because I’d like to see Iran build itself back up in a peaceful manner, and not going around saying ‘Death to America, Death to the USA, Death to Israel,’ as they were doing.” Netanyahu is also visiting Washington as the Trump administration pushes for a halt to the war in Gaza, with the US president raising hopes for a deal that could stop the fighting and see the release of hostages still being held by Hamas. Trump said last week that a ceasefire could be “close” to the conflict that has raged since the attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 and which has threatened to further destabilize the region. Trump and Netanyahu suggested a ceasefire was in reach, and the Israeli leader hinted that he would be willing to expand the Abraham Accords that normalized Israel’s relations with several regional nations. “I think we can work out a peace between us and the rest of the Middle East with President Trump’s leadership,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu has accepted a proposal put forward by Trump that would pause fighting in Gaza for 60 days and see the return of some hostages. Hamas said last week it had responded positively to the proposed deal and was ready to immediately enter negotiations. International pressure is mounting on Israel to end its war in Gaza as more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in the military campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Aid agencies are warning the 2 million residents of Gaza are at risk of famine. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, still holds about 50 hostages, of whom Israel believes 20 are still alive.
