Israeli PM Joins World Leaders Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (L) received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on TV at the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (L) received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on TV at the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan. (AFP)
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Israeli PM Joins World Leaders Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (L) received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on TV at the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (L) received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on TV at the Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was vaccinated against the coronavirus on live television Saturday, becoming the first Israeli and one of the world's leaders to be inoculated.

Israel is set to begin vaccinating its health workers and nursing home residents beginning Sunday. Netanyahu said he wanted to be the country's first recipient to set a “personal example” and to encourage Israelis to get the shot.

“I believe in this vaccine,” he said before receiving the injection of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu rolled up the right sleeve of his black, short-sleeve shirt and waited for several minutes before receiving the injection. He called it an “exciting moment” that put Israel on the path to returning to its normal routines.

The event also gave Netanyahu a political boost as the country appears to be heading to its fourth election in just two years.

Netanyahu's coalition government with his rival, Benny Gantz, has been plagued by paralysis and dysfunction since taking office in May and will automatically collapse on Tuesday if it cannot get a budget passed. That would trigger a new election three months from now.

Netanyahu planned to hold a news conference later Saturday after a half-hour period to monitor him for possible allergic reactions to the vaccine.



Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump declined on Monday to answer what it would take for US to be directly involved in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, saying he did not want to talk about the issue.

Instead, he continued to press Iran on negotiations on its nuclear program.

“They should talk, and they should talk immediately,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with the Canadian prime minister during the G7 summit.

Trump added: “I’d say Iran is not winning this war.”

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the US to step in and negotiate an end to dayslong hostilities between Israel and Iran.

In a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”

“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat continued. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

The message to Washington comes as the most recent round of talks between US and Iran was canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran on Thursday.