‘He’s forging peace as we speak’ - Netanyahu presents Trump with nomination letter for Nobel Peace Prize

During their White House dinner meeting on Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a copy of the letter he wrote to the Nobel Prize committee, nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

The move by Netanyahu appeared to catch Trump by surprise. Netanyahu began by thanking Trump for his support for Israel on behalf of its people. 

"I wanted to express appreciation and admiration, not only of all Israelis, but of the Jewish people and many, many admirers around the world for your leadership,” Netanyahu said after a welcome by President Trump. “Your leadership of the free world, your leadership of a just cause, and the pursuit of peace and security which you’re leading in many lands, but now especially in the Middle East.” 

Netanyahu went on to praise the two teams of the U.S. administration of Donald Trump, and the Israeli advisors with him. 

“We have great opportunities,” he stated, saying, “The president has an extraordinary team, and I think our teams together make an extraordinary combination to meet challenges and seize opportunities.” 

Netanyahu then spoke of Trump’s work in creating the Abraham Accords and its connection to peace initiatives going on at the present. 

“But the president has already realized great opportunities,” Netanyahu continued. “He forged the Abraham accords. He's forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after another.” 

“So I wanted to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee. It’s a letter nominating you for the peace prize, which is well deserved and you should get it.” 

President Trump appeared genuinely surprised by the gesture, accepting the letter and saying, “Thank you very much. This I didn’t know. Wow, thank you very much. Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful.” 

President Trump is "forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other. So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It's nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved." –Israeli PM @Netanyahu 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/ZZfUEcfOPd

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 8, 2025

The letter is not the fist nomination that President Trump has received for the award. In 2018, a group of U.S. House Republicans, along with two Norwegian lawmakers, nominated Trump for his role in trying to reduce tensions with North Korea. 

One of those Norwegian lawmakers again nominated Trump in 2021 for his role in securing the Abraham Accords. 

“President Trump has demonstrated steadfast and exceptional dedication to promoting peace, security, and stability around the world,” Mr. Netanyahu said in the letter of nomination. “In the Middle East, his efforts have brought about dramatic change and created new opportunities to expand the circle of peace and normalization.” 

Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet again on Tuesday evening in Washington, with a hostage-ceasefire deal being discussed in Doha, Qatar, as well as conversations regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu is expected to request backing for future strikes on Iranian targets, if Iran begins enrichment or steps towards a nuclear weapons program. 

The two are also believed to be discussing other ways to “expand the circle of peace and normalization” as a result of a Gaza ceasefire and the removal of the Iranian threat. 

According to reports in Hebrew media, Netanyahu will return to Washington later this year, where he is expected to meet with Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. That meeting could even include the initial stages of a normalization agreement between the two countries. 

Both special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Netanyahu’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer have also hinted that the Abraham Accords could be expanded even further before the end of the year, with many believing that a deal with Saudi Arabia could be secured before the end of December.