Episode Details

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House for his first in-person talks with US President Donald Trump since the Iran war began in February. Closed to the press, later statements about the meeting were laconic, with Israel describing it as “excellent” and “one of the best we’ve ever had,” and the White House calling the talks productive and positive.

Magid reviews what we know about the meetup and hypothesizes why the long-awaited talks were held in such an atypically subdued fashion.

We hear about overnight flare-ups in the Iran conflict after the regime targeted US forces in Jordan and the US and Saudi Arabia launched deadly strikes on Tehran-backed militias in Iraq, blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. How close were the sides to resuming the memorandum of understanding -- and what may happen now?

Securing Saudi Arabia is the focus of our final item as well: Magid brings exclusive reporting on how Pakistani military chief Asim Munir leveraged a joint oil transport venture with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Ahmad Vahidi to secure an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under which Tehran agreed to halt attacks against the Gulf kingdom.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Netanyahu: Meeting with Trump was one of our best ever; White House: Productive, positive

Wary of perception that Israel driving war, Trump and Netanyahu opt to avoid optics altogether

‘He loved Israel’: Lindsey Graham eulogized by Trump and other dignitaries at DC funeral

US-Saudi strikes target Iraqi pro-Iran militias as IRGC renews attacks on US forces

Pakistan army chief leveraged private oil venture with IRGC head to shield Saudi Arabia

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