“Diplomacy” is back between American and Israeli allies, including on the Iranian file, at the heart of the meeting which took place Sunday in Rome between Yaïr Lapid, new Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister bis and his counterpart, Antony Blinken.
“Israel has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being worked out in Vienna. We believe that the way to discuss these disagreements is through direct and professional conversations, and not through press conferences, ”said Yaïr Lapid. In other words, anything can be said, but not just any old way.
Wind up against the 2015 agreement
One of the ambitions of the new Israeli government, led by Naftali Bennett, is to restore his country’s relations with the American Democrats, deeply battered by Benjamin Netanyahu, and ultimately to better protect Israeli interests. This meeting between the two diplomats was preceded by two Israeli visits to the United States, that of the Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz and that of the Chief of Staff, Aviv Kohavi.
Basically, Israel is still standing up against a renewal of the Common Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iranian Nuclear Power signed in 2015 under the presidency of Barack Obama, which Donald Trump blew up with a bang in 2018 by withdrawing the United States from this agreement to the great satisfaction of Benjamin Netanyahu. But on the form, Israel has changed its tactics markedly with regard to its biggest and staunchest ally, the United States.
Israel discusses sanctions
It’s not just the words. There are also acts. On the one hand, the United States seems determined to slow down the pace of negotiations in Vienna to listen to Israeli comments. And on Sunday, they attacked Iranian militia positions in Syria that threatened their troops stationed in Iraq. On the other hand, the Israelis are going to send experts on sanctions to Washington to discuss those that should imperatively be maintained, even in the event of an agreement.
For many Israeli military experts, including Zeevi Farkash, former director of military intelligence, the refusal to present the Israeli position was dangerous for the Jewish state. “We have the obligation to express our opinion to try to modify at least part of the most problematic clauses”, he declared to the daily “Yediot Aharonot”.
Acts of sabotage
However, Israel remains on high alert. “Israel will not allow Iran to be equipped with nuclear weapons. Israel is not a party to the agreement and will retain its full freedom of action, ”Naftali Bennett underlined during his first speech as Prime Minister to the Knesseth on June 13. As Israel celebrates the 40th anniversary of the operation to destroy Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor, the Prime Minister’s words should be taken seriously. In this case, acts of sabotage against Iranian nuclear-related sites have increased in recent years, the last one dating back a few days. It is not claimed by Israel, but it is a probable hypothesis.
In Rome, Yaïr Lapid also met his Italian and Bahraini counterparts, Luigi di Maio and Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani. The Israeli foreign minister will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for a two-day visit. He will be the Israeli prime minister to officially go there since the signing of the Abrahamic Accords in September 2020. There too, Iran will be at the heart of conversations between Israelis and Emiratis.
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