United States President Donald Trump has held separate meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as conflicts involving Ukraine and Iran continue.
The White House described both meetings as positive and productive. Zelensky and Netanyahu travelled to Washington to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of Israel and advocate of US military assistance to Ukraine.
During his meeting with Trump, Zelensky sought additional support for Ukraine’s air defence capabilities amid continued Russian missile attacks.
Following the talks, the Ukrainian leader said Trump had agreed to grant Ukraine licences to domestically produce Patriot interceptor missiles. Zelensky also met representatives of major American defence companies to discuss possible joint production.
The White House has not officially confirmed the agreement. Before meeting Trump, Zelensky also held talks with a bipartisan group of US lawmakers as the Senate overwhelmingly approved sanctions targeting buyers of Russian oil and gas. He described the move as an important signal of support for Ukraine.
Patriot missile systems remain one of Ukraine’s most requested air defence platforms because of their ability to intercept ballistic missiles.
Later in the day, Netanyahu met Trump amid growing differences between Washington and Israel over the handling of Iran. Relations between the two allies have become strained in recent months following disagreements over military operations in the region.
Netanyahu said the discussions focused on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He also described the meeting as one of his best conversations with the US president.
Shortly after the talks, the US military said Iranian forces attempted to launch missiles at American forces in the Middle East, but all projectiles were intercepted. It also announced joint operations with Saudi forces against Iran-backed groups in Iraq accused of attacks on Saudi energy facilities.
Iran had not officially commented on the incidents at the time of reporting.
