Israeli new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett plans to push for a new strategy towards Iran on his first visit to the White House. He says he will urge US President Joe Biden not to renew the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
Photo: flickr/Prachatai
Biden's aides hope the talks will set a positive tone for his relationship with Bennett, a far-right politician and technology-rich millionaire. In June, he ended Benjamin Netanyahu's record 12-year career as prime minister. His tenure was marked by years of tension between conservative Netanyahu, who was close to Donald Trump, and the last democratic administration led by Barack Obama, whose vice president was Biden.
The leaders' meeting gives the US administration the opportunity to demonstrate, as usual, with its closest ally in the Middle East, when faced with the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, Biden's biggest foreign policy crisis since coming to power.
Negotiations will be relatively easy, writes Arab News. The two leaders are expected to address a small group of reporters briefly during interviews at the Oval Office, but will not hold a joint press conference.
Bennett is as adamant as Netanyahu and promises not to allow Iran, which Israel considers an existential threat, to develop nuclear weapons. “Iran is making rapid progress in uranium enrichment and has already significantly reduced the time required to accumulate material for a single nuclear bomb,” the Israeli leader said.
Bennett revealed what he would say to Biden: “It's time to stop the Iranians and not give them a lifeline to re-enter into an expired nuclear agreement.” Trump withdrew the United States from an agreement between the six world powers and Iran in 2018. He considered it too beneficial for Tehran and re-imposed US sanctions, according to a report released by Reuters last week. for Atomic Energy stated that Iran had accelerated uranium enrichment to a level close to weapons.
Iran has consistently rejected attempts at bombings, but enriching the country has increased tensions in the West as both sides seek to resume negotiations to renew an agreement to limit Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting sanctions.
Bennett told the government that he would present to Biden “the structured plan we have formulated over the past two months to curb Iranians from nuclear and regional aggression.” He did not provide any details.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said: “I have the Israeli Prime Minister present to the US President any ideas the Israeli government may have regarding Iran. “
Bennett, 49, is the son of American immigrants in Israel. The former head of the Israeli Settler Council in the West Bank leads a coalition of left-wing, right-wing, centrist and Arab parties. The Biden administration has already made it clear that it opposes further expansion of Jewish settlements. Bennett, who advocated expansion in the West Bank, is cautious about settlement.