Netanyahu, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Discuss Iranian Threats

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 18, 2020. Twitter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 18, 2020. Twitter
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Netanyahu, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Discuss Iranian Threats

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 18, 2020. Twitter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Dec. 18, 2020. Twitter

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have discussed with visiting Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley Iran’s threat in the region.

A statement from Netanyahu's office said Friday the PM also discussed with Milley regional threats and military cooperation between Israel and the US.

Netanyahu thanked the US General for the military cooperation between the two countries, which has expanded in recent years, and expressed hope that such coordination would continue.

This is Netanyahu’s second meeting with a senior US security official this week.

Last Sunday, the Israeli PM met with US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.

Before meeting O'Brien, Netanyahu said "the United States and Israel are working closely together more than ever."

Gantz said the army is ready for any eventuality in the face of the Iranian threat in the region, calling on the US military to remain in the Middle East.

During Friday's talks, which focused on "the Iranian threat to the region," Gantz said pressure on the Tehran regime must be continued.

"During the meeting, we discussed various challenges and changes in the Middle East,” a statement from his office said.

The Israeli Defense Minister called for continued pressure on the Iranian regime.

"It is important to maintain the US military presence in the Middle East, which is a key element for stability in the region," he said, addressing the US Chief of Staff, who arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day visit.

He met with the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Aviv Kochavi, and a number of officers, to discuss joint cooperation, amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran in the wake of the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last month.



Congo and Rwanda Submit Draft Peace Proposal, Trump Adviser Says

 A charcoal street vendor waits for customers at Kituku market on the bank of Lake Kivu, in Goma, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A charcoal street vendor waits for customers at Kituku market on the bank of Lake Kivu, in Goma, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Congo and Rwanda Submit Draft Peace Proposal, Trump Adviser Says

 A charcoal street vendor waits for customers at Kituku market on the bank of Lake Kivu, in Goma, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A charcoal street vendor waits for customers at Kituku market on the bank of Lake Kivu, in Goma, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a process meant to end fighting in eastern Congo and attract billions of dollars of Western investment, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa said on Monday.

It is the latest step in an ambitious bid by the Trump administration to end a decades-long conflict in a region rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.

The two countries' foreign ministers agreed last month, at a ceremony in Washington alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to submit the draft proposal by May 2.

But neither Kinshasa nor Kigali has publicly confirmed doing so, and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Saturday on X that the two sides' contributions "have not yet been consolidated."

Massad Boulos, who is Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, said on X on Monday that he welcomed "the draft text on a peace proposal received from both DRC and Rwanda," describing it as "an important step" towards peace.

Washington wants to move quickly. In an interview with Reuters last week, Boulos said the plan was for Rubio to meet in mid-May in Washington with his Rwandan and Congolese counterparts in an effort to agree on a final draft peace accord.

Before that accord can be signed, Boulos said, Rwanda and Congo must finalize bilateral economic agreements with Washington that will see US and Western companies invest billions of dollars in Congolese mines and infrastructure projects to support mining in both countries, including the processing of minerals in Rwanda.

The hope is that all three agreements can be signed in about two months, and on the same day, at a ceremony attended by Trump, Boulos said.

FIGHTING CONTINUES

The diplomacy comes amid an advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defense against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's government is engaged in separate talks with M23 facilitated by Qatar.

Last month Congo and the rebels agreed to work towards peace, but sources in the two delegations have expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations.

M23 is not involved in the talks in Washington, though Lawrence Kanyuka, spokesperson for the rebel alliance that includes M23, told Reuters last week that "we encourage any peace initiative."

Meanwhile, fighting in eastern Congo continues. Mak Hazukay, a spokesperson for Congo's army, on Saturday accused M23 of seizing the town of Lunyasenge on Lake Edward and said Congo "reserves the right to retaliate".