Netanyahu's first dire warning about Iran came more than two decades ago. In 1996, Netanyahu, then in his first term as Prime Minister, delivered his maiden speech before Congress. In it, he warned that Iran "has wed a cruel despotism to a fanatic militancy. If this regime, or its despotic neighbor Iraq, were to acquire nuclear weapons, this could presage catastrophic consequences, not only for my country, and not only for the Middle East, but for all mankind."

In the intervening years, his language has barely changed.

In 2011, again speaking before Congress, Netanyahu said, "The tyranny in Tehran brutalizes its own people." In 2015 -- his most recent speech before Congress in which he lobbied against the Iran nuclear accord -- the Israeli Prime Minister said, "Iran's founding document pledges death, tyranny, and the pursuit of jihad."

What has changed is Netanyahu's singular focus on Iran. He mentioned it only once in 1996. In 2011, he said it 12 times. In 2015, he said "Iran" a staggering 107 times in his speech.

Netanyahu: Only strong position on Iran 'would avert war'

Once the most vocal critic of the Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Netanyahu went largely quiet after the signing of the accord in July 2015, realizing he could do little to change it, especially as relations deteriorated between Netanyahu and former President Barack Obama.

In Trump, Netanyahu sees a new window of opportunity.

Trump has blasted the Iran deal since his days on the campaign trail, calling it "the worst deal ever" and vowing to "rip it up." Since taking office, his tone has softened, but only slightly.

Trump has still voiced strong criticism, leaving open the possibility that the United States will leave the deal, despite the International Atomic Energy Agency finding at the end of August that Iran was complying with the terms of the accord. Earlier this month, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley laid out a case for the US to abandon the deal, saying Iran's technical compliance wasn't enough.

Netanyahu has urged Trump to do so, saying in an exclusive interview with CNN this week, "This agreement should be changed. It should be changed so that the removal of restrictions on Iran's nuclear program should be not a matter of [a] change [in] the calendar, but a change in Iran's aggressive behavior. They must stop their aggression. They must stop their terror in the Middle East and everywhere else."

Israel's concern about the nuclear deal isn't the only Iran issue Trump and Netanyahu will discuss. In fact, it may not even be the primary one, since even Netanyahu acknowledges that the current accord will keep Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon within the next decade.

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