Iran has warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States of America is an attempt to undermine the newly started nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.

Mr Netanyahu departed for Washington on Tuesday to meet U.S. President Donald Trump to press him to take a harder line on Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities in upcoming negotiations.

This is the Israeli prime minister’s seventh meeting with Mr Trump since his return to office, including one in Jerusalem in October 2025, after Mr Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza.

“On this trip, we will discuss a range of issues: Gaza, the region, but of course first and foremost the negotiations with Iran,” Mr Netanyahu told journalists at the airport.

He said he would present to Mr Trump Israel’s views regarding “the principles of the negotiations.

“The important principles, which are important not only for Israel but for anyone in the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he noted.

Mr Netanyahu’s office recently said the prime minister would press the view that any negotiations with Iran must address its ballistic missile programme and regional activities, not only its nuclear-related issues.

In response to Mr Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, said at a press conference that Israel has been the main cause of insecurity and security problems in the region.

Mr Baghaei said, “Israel has been the root cause of Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear programme turning into a “fabricated crisis.”

He added that Israel was opposed to any diplomatic process that would restore peace and calm in the region.

The U.S. officials should not let others decide for their country’s foreign policy, Mr Baghaei said.

It is up to the United States whether to act independently of the “destructive” pressures, lobbies, and attempts aimed at exerting influence, he said.

Mr Baghaei said Iran had proved its seriousness and goodwill in the talks and is in a hurry to lift the “illegal” sanctions imposed on the country.

Pointing to the brief encounter between the Iranian and U.S. delegations on Friday, he said, “There is an understanding to continue the diplomatic process, which is important.”

Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived in the Sultanate of Oman on Tuesday, local media reported.

 (Xinhua/NAN)