JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to meet soon in the United States, as tensions persist between Washington and Jerusalem over a recent U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.

The conversation came as Netanyahu congratulated Trump ahead of America’s 250th Independence Day on Saturday, July 4. The leaders plan to meet on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York in September.

Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister told Trump that the United States is “a guarantee of global freedom” and that Israel greatly values the close bond between the two nations.

The announcement followed closely after the Prime Minister’s Office issued an English-language statement denying a New York Times report — published nearly a day earlier and picked up by other outlets — that the Trump administration feared Israel was planning to assassinate Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations leading to last month’s agreement.

“As usual, the latest New York Times story on Israel and Iranian negotiators is fake news. A total distortion of reality,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The report claimed U.S. officials worried Israel might target senior Iranian negotiators during the sensitive talks. Israel flatly rejected the allegation.

This development comes amid broader strains in U.S.-Israel coordination following the U.S.-Iran deal, with Israel emphasizing it is not a party to the memorandum while stressing its security concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles and support for terrorist proxies.

No further details on the planned September meeting were immediately released. VINnews will continue to monitor developments.