Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Donald Trump “the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House” as he spoke out Sunday morning against the shooting near the White House, but stayed mum on the current Iran peace deal.
Two people were shot outside the White House on Saturday evening when a suspected gunman, identified as Nasire Best, 21, attacked a Secret Service booth near the property. The gunman, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital, reportedly had previous encounters with Secret Service and, according to Trump, “had a violent history and possible obsession with” the White House.
SUSPECT IN SHOOTING NEAR WHITE HOUSE IDENTIFIED AS 21-YEAR-OLD MALE: REPORT
“I am relieved that President @realDonaldTrump, the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House, is safe and that the attacker was neutralized before he could cause any further harm,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “Political violence, including repeated attempts to assassinate President Trump, should be unequivocally and forcefully condemned by all.”
The incident on Saturday evening was the latest possible threat against Trump’s life, coming just about one month after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where another gunman allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump before he was stopped by security.
“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’Dinner shooting, and goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, touting the idea of his plans for a secure White House ballroom in the East Wing.
The incident on Saturday evening occurred during the thick of Trump’s peace talks with Iran to put an end to the U.S.-Israeli war with the country. Trump had posted on Truth Social a few hours earlier that he was in the Oval Office on a phone call discussing a peace deal with Iran with world leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, Bahrain, and Jordan. Trump said the deal had been “largely negotiated” and that he had a separate conversation with Netanyahu that “went very well.”
Netanyahu did not address the “largely negotiated” deal, which Trump clarified would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in his public statement on Sunday morning.
An unnamed Israeli official released a government statement to reporters regarding the deal, separately, early Sunday morning, saying Netanyahu “stressed that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated his support for this principle.”
“The United States is updating Israel on the negotiations over a memorandum of understanding for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and entering negotiations on a final agreement regarding the disputed issues,” the statement read.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN AGREEMENT ‘HAS BEEN LARGELY NEGOTIATED’ AND WOULD OPEN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
“President Trump made clear that he will stand firm in the negotiations on his longstanding demand for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from its territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met,” the statement continued.
Iran reportedly agreed to give up its enriched uranium in the deal, according to a Saturday night report from the New York Times that spoke with two U.S. officials.