News conference between Trump and Netanyahu in Washington DC cancelled

A news conference between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to take place this evening has been cancelled, the White House has said.

The two leaders will still take questions in the Oval Office from a smaller group of reporters, the Trump administration added.

The White House did not offer any immediate explanation for why the news conference was cancelled.

It comes as President Trump is under pressure over his tariffs policy which has sparked a meltdown in the global markets, and Mr Netanyahu faces questions over the killing of 15 aid workers by Israeli troops in Gaza.

Whether Mr Netanyahu's visit succeeds in bringing down or eliminating Israel's tariffs remains to be seen, but how it plays out could set the stage for how other world leaders try to address the new tariffs.

Tariffs latest: Follow live updates

Mr Trump greeted the Israeli prime minister with a firm handshake as he arrived for talks.

The US president ignored shouted questions from reporters about the tumbling global markets and whether he would lift tariffs on Israel.

Mr Netanyahu's office has put the focus of the hastily organised Washington visit on tariffs, while stressing that the two leaders will discuss major geopolitical issues including the war in Gaza and tensions with Iran.

They will also discuss Israel-Turkey ties and the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli leader last year.

Mr Trump in February signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israel.

Shortly after arriving in Washington on Sunday evening, Mr Netanyahu met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jameson Greer, to discuss tariffs.

The Israeli prime minister later met with Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, ahead of his sit down with Mr Trump.

The US president and Mr Netanyahu are expected to discuss Israel's hoped-for annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians want as the heart of their future independent state.

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