Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington for a hastily arranged White House visit, carrying a heavy briefcase of geopolitical anxieties, chief among them: Iran’s nuclear ambitions, President Donald Trump’s surprise tariffs, Turkey’s rising clout in Syria, and the ongoing 18-month war in Gaza.

If Netanyahu had hoped for the easy political windfalls he once enjoyed during Trump’s first term, he was in for a rude awakening.

The meeting’s central focus was supposed to be the 17% tariff the Trump administration had abruptly slapped on Israeli exports just a week earlier. In a bid to preempt damage, Israel had zeroed out its own limited tariffs on U.S. goods a day prior. But the gesture fell flat.

Seated beside Trump in the Oval Office, Netanyahu, in typical form, lavished praise on the American president, pledging to swiftly remove trade barriers and deficits. “We are going to eliminate the tariffs and rapidly,” he said.

Trump, however, was unmoved. “Israel gets $4 billion a year from the United States—congratulations, by the way. That’s pretty good,” he quipped, refusing to commit to rolling back the tariffs. “Maybe not, maybe not,” he added when pressed.

It was a far cry from the days of unilateral U.S. concessions: moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokering normalization deals with Gulf states. Netanyahu, once the beneficiary of a cascade of political gifts from Trump, now left Washington without a single clear win.

His efforts to spin the visit – illustrating that he was the first foreign leader to meet Trump in his second term, and the first to raise the issue of tariffs, did little to mask the lack of substance. No deliverables. No promises. No headlines to take home.

And then came the Iran bombshell, but not the one Netanyahu expected.

The Iran Letdown

In the lead-up to the Washington meeting, the Israeli media had been humming with speculation: Would this be the moment Netanyahu secures U.S. backing for a strike on Iran? The signals, at least on the surface, looked promising. Six U.S. B-2 stealth bombers were reportedly stationed in the Indian Ocean. A second American aircraft carrier had quietly arrived in the Middle East. And the Sunday headline in Israel’s popular Yedioth Ahronoth shouted confidently: “IRAN FIRST.” The tone was clear – if Tehran was ever going to feel a “heavy blow,” this was the moment.

But the much-anticipated discussion on Iran turned out to be a political fizzle.

Rather than endorsing Israeli military action, or even hinting at coordinated pressure, Trump offered only vague remarks and no assurance of support. Sources familiar with the talks said the president steered the conversation toward negotiation and deterrence, rather than escalation.

For Netanyahu, who had built much of his recent foreign policy on portraying Iran as an existential threat requiring immediate confrontation, this was both disappointing and deflating. The bold narrative of imminent action crumbled within hours.

What stung more was the optics. Netanyahu had framed the visit as urgent, strategically timed, and potentially historic. But in Washington, Iran didn’t dominate the agenda, it barely made a dent.

Hence, with no joint statement, no new red lines drawn, and certainly no green light for Israeli military action, the Iran chapter of this visit ended with a whisper, not a bang.

Turkey’s Growing Shadow

While Iran may have dominated Israeli headlines, another rising force in the region is giving Netanyahu sleepless nights is Turkey.

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has expanded its footprint in northern Syria, leveraging both military operations and soft-power tactics to establish de facto control over large swathes of territory once held by Kurdish and ISIS forces. What began as a counterinsurgency campaign has morphed into a broader regional ambition, one that’s increasingly clashing with Israeli interests.

For Netanyahu, Erdoğan’s ambitions are doubly troubling. Not only is Turkey a NATO member with growing ties to Russia and Iran, it’s also positioning itself as the champion of the Palestinian cause—a direct challenge to Israel’s narrative on Gaza and Jerusalem.

During the White House meeting, Netanyahu raised concerns about Turkish-backed militias operating close to Israeli-aligned Kurdish areas and intelligence suggesting Turkey is helping facilitate arms transfers that could eventually find their way to Hamas or Hezbollah. But here too, Trump remained noncommittal.

Unlike his earlier years in office, Trump now views Erdoğan as a necessary ally in the complex chessboard of Syria—someone who can counterbalance both Assad and Iranian militias without demanding too much in return. Netanyahu, by contrast, sees a rival exploiting chaos to stir anti-Israel sentiment and bolster Islamist movements across the region.

“We’re watching Turkish moves very closely,” Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting. “This isn’t 2010. The dynamics have changed.”

But despite those words, there was no evidence that the U.S. would be recalibrating its Syria policy to factor in Israeli discomfort. For Netanyahu, this growing shadow from Ankara is a strategic dilemma, one he’s now being forced to confront largely alone.

The War in Gaza – The Elephant in the Room
Overshadowing every other issue was the grinding 18-month-long war in Gaza, which has tested Israel’s military might, strained its global image, and drawn widespread condemnation. Yet in the Oval Office, it was the topic least directly addressed.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington hoping for a firm public endorsement of his Gaza campaign from Trump but that moment never came.

Instead, Trump, who once gave Netanyahu the diplomatic equivalent of a red carpet, remained vague. He offered boilerplate support for Israel’s “right to defend itself” but stopped short of committing to any fresh aid or military backing. In fact, he seemed more interested in the strategic cost of a prolonged war than its ideological justification.

For Netanyahu, this was another sign that the old Trump magic may be fading. The war in Gaza, which was supposed to be swift and decisive, has instead dragged into one of Israel’s most complex and controversial military engagements. Civilian casualties have mounted. International calls for restraint have grown louder. And even Israel’s closest allies are beginning to question the endgame.

Netanyahu, known for his ability to leverage global forums to rally support, found little in Washington this time to take home as a political win. No promises of expedited weapons shipments. No resolution condemning Hamas. No dramatic joint declaration.

Behind the pleasantries and rehearsed soundbites, there was an unspoken truth – the Gaza war, once seen by Netanyahu as a means to consolidate domestic support, has become an international liability. And even Trump, his most reliable political partner in the past, is keeping some distance.

A Changed Washington and a Humbled Visit
This was probably the Washington Netanyahu once knew, the one that gave him standing ovations in Congress, the one that gave without asking much in return, the one where he was treated as a statesman with veto power over U.S. Middle East policy. The Washington he walked into this time was colder, more transactional, and far less enchanted.

For Netanyahu, the symbolism cut deep as no wins to bring home to a weary Israeli public increasingly divided over the government’s domestic and military policies.

Trump, in his second term and facing his own storm of controversies, appeared disinterested in staging nostalgia. It appears he does not need Netanyahu in the same way anymore, not as a foreign policy trophy, not as a campaign prop. In fact, the Israeli leader’s visit looked more like a footnote than a headline. A flicker of the past, not a partner for the future.

Perhaps most telling was the shift in tone. Gone were the grandiose promises of peace deals and embassy moves. In their place, hedged language, awkward smiles, and vague gestures. The power dynamic has definitely shifted –  not just between the two men, but between their countries. The leash shorter, the indulgence gone.

The Last Bit, A Visit Full of Optics, Empty on Outcomes
In the end, Netanyahu’s hastily arranged White House visit was heavy on symbolism but light on substance. No breakthrough on tariffs. No new commitment on Iran. No strategic shift in U.S. policy toward Gaza or Syria. The handshake photo op was captured, the flags were in place, the praise was exchanged but the deliverables were missing.

The meeting, in many ways, a portrait of changing times. The days of political freebies from Washington are over, even for old allies like Israel. And Netanyahu, once a master of leveraging U.S. support for domestic gains, left with little more than polite nods and a few vague assurances.

Back home, he faces mounting criticism, economic strain, and a prolonged military engagement in Gaza that has exhausted both global patience and Israeli morale. The visit, which might once have been seen as a diplomatic triumph, was instead viewed by many as a missed opportunity or worse, a misread of Washington’s evolving mood.

For Netanyahu, this trip was not the victory lap he may have envisioned, but rather a reminder that geopolitical winds shift quickly. And when they do, even the strongest alliances can feel the chill.