Netanyahu to push Trump on Iran missiles in White House talks<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I\u2019m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.<\/p>\n
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, will push Donald Trump on Wednesday to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran<\/strong>, after rushing to Washington to stiffen the US president\u2019s resolve, AFP reported.<\/p>\n Trump said on the eve of the hastily arranged White House meeting \u2013 set to begin at 11am \u2013 that he was weighing sending a second US \u201carmada\u201d to the Middle East to pressure Tehran to reach a nuclear deal.<\/p>\n But Netanyahu, making his sixth visit to the United States since Trump took office, will also be urging the US leader to take a harder line on Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program.<\/p>\n Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned on Monday of \u201cdestructive influences\u201d on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said his country would \u201cnot yield to excessive demands\u201d on its nuclear program, though he said the country is not seeking an atomic weapon.<\/p>\n Netanyahu had been expected to come to Washington for a 19 February meeting of Trump\u2019s \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d for Gaza<\/a>, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded.<\/p>\n Trump is also due to meet with special envoy to the UK Mark Burnett later today, while the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, is set to face questions from lawmakers over the justice department\u2019s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors reportedly tried, and failed, to convince a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday over a social media video<\/a> they recorded to remind service members in the military and intelligence community that they are not required to follow illegal orders.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s sudden turn against a new, publicly owned bridge being constructed to connect Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario, came right after a Republican donor who owns a private, rival bridge met with Trump\u2019s commerce secretary, the New York Times reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Canada\u2019s prime minister, Mark Carney<\/strong>, and the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford<\/strong>, have taken on the daunting task of trying to explain to Trump that the reasons he cited for threatening to block the opening of the new bridge are entirely untrue. Carney told Trump that Canada paid for the bridge and the US shares ownership<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n In an appearance<\/a> on the rightwing channel Real America\u2019s Voice, a Republican congressman from Missouri, Mark Alford<\/strong>, said \u201cwe are still investigating\u201d the lyrics of a song performed in Spanish by the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny during his Super Bowl half-time show<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n As the US supreme court prepares to rule on whether Trump does have the power to impose tariffs on foreign imports to address a self-declared economic emergency, the president confirmed in an interview that he sets tariff rates based, in part, on his own feelings about the leaders of other nations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n