July 8 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded “opportunities for peace” with Iran and in Gaza after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday.
Netanyahu and Vance met earlier Tuesday at Blair House, and the prime minister afterward met with Johnson, who is a Republican from Louisiana.
The prime minister was accompanied by Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanagbi, Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman.
Johnson said he and Netanyahu discussed the United States’ support for Israel’s security, its war with Iran and a proposed cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
“America and Israel’s strong stand in the 12-day war dealt a devastating blow to the greatest enemy of peace in the region, leaving the Iranian regime weaker than at any point in decades,” Johnson said afterward in a statement.
“We are hopeful that this marks the dawn of a new chapter of peace in the Middle East,” Johnson added.
Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump on Monday night and has another meeting scheduled on Tuesday.
After meeting with Johnson, the prime minister said the U.S. aerial strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities “has made a remarkable change in the Middle East.”
“There are opportunities for peace that we intend to realize,” Netanyahu said, adding that work still needs to be done to end the war in Gaza.
He is scheduled to meet with Senate members on Wednesday.