JERUSALEM, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday flew to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for Tuesday, according to a statement issued by his office.

Israel's state-run Kan TV News and other local media outlets reported that the takeoff was made unusually from the Nevatim military airbase in the Negev desert in southern Israel, rather than from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu said before his departure that he would discuss with Trump mainly the Iranian issue, Israel's security, and efforts to expand the circle of peace around Israel.

Israel's Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu is expected to present Trump with up-to-date intelligence on Iran's progress toward a nuclear bomb, express opposition to the U.S. demand for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Syria, and ask the U.S. president not to sell weapons systems and F-35 jets to Türkiye. ■