THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TEL AVIV—President Biden’s national security adviser met Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as the two allies sought to present a more united front on Iran’s nuclear program after divisions emerged between the U.S. and Israel.
Israeli officials say they have pushed the U.S. to take a more forceful approach to Tehran if talks break down and are openly planning for a military strike on Iran. The Biden administration is taking a more cautious stand and views economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure as better options than a military attack.
Before Wednesday’s meeting in Jerusalem, Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said that world leaders are at a critical juncture and that the U.S. and Israel had to develop a common strategy for containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Messrs. Sullivan and Bennett underscored that the U.S. and Israel are united in their warning to Iran that time is running out for Tehran to seriously negotiate ways to curb its nuclear program at talks in Vienna with the U.S., European powers, Russia and China. Those talks are expected to resume soon, after making little progress.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett highlighted the security implications of the Iran nuclear talks.
Photo:
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Mr. Bennett hinted at the divisions before sitting down with Mr. Sullivan and U.S. officials.
“Being so strong and having this meaningful friendship means we can also talk openly and candidly about the shared challenges we are facing,” he said. “What happens in Vienna has profound ramifications for the stability of the Middle East and the security of Israel.”
In recent weeks, Israeli leaders have stepped up their public criticism of the U.S. approach to talks with Iran and made it clear that they are prepared to go their own way if they can’t agree on a unified strategy with America.
The high-level concerns were evident on the front page of Yedioth Ahronoth, one of the country’s largest newspapers, which featured a full-page photograph of Israel’s incoming air-force commander and a bold headline in Hebrew: “Can you attack Iran tomorrow? Yes.”
Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar told the newspaper, “There is no situation in which we operate there and I don’t come home and say, ‘I accomplished the mission.’”
Earlier this month, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he told U.S. officials that he had directed the military to prepare a new plan to strike Iran.
On Wednesday, Mr. Gantz said world leaders needed to step up the pressure on Tehran.
“Iran is playing for time—and our shared responsibility, of the world powers and countries of the region, is to turn over the hourglass and show the leaders of the Iranian regime that time is actually working against them,” he said at an Air Force graduation ceremony.
Mr. Sullivan’s visit to Israel coincided with a new warning from Rob Malley, the Biden administration’s point man on talks with Iran.
Mr. Malley said that it is only a matter of weeks before efforts to revive the nuclear containment deal with Iran completely collapse.
A new series of talks in Vienna about resurrecting the 2015 deal have made little progress in recent weeks.
The agreement brokered by then-President Barack Obama offered sanctions relief for Iran in return for constraints on its nuclear program. Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 after he became president.
While talks with the U.S. and its allies have sputtered, Iran has taken new steps to advance its nuclear program, including producing 60% enriched uranium, which brings the country closer to making weapons-grade nuclear fuel. Iran says the program isn’t intended to make a weapon, but Israeli leaders have warned that Tehran must be stopped one way or another.
“At some point in the not-so-distant future we will have to conclude the JCPOA is no more and we would have to negotiate a wholly different deal and we would go through a period of escalating crisis,” Mr. Malley said in an interview Tuesday with CNN. The deal is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Mr. Sullivan was also planning to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of his efforts to rejuvenate U.S. relations with the Palestinian leader, which hit a low point when Mr. Trump was in the White House.
Corrections & Amplifications
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz had said he told U.S. officials that he had directed the military to prepare a new plan to strike Iran. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the new plan was to strike Israel. (Corrected on Dec. 22)
—Vivian Salama and Laurence Norman contributed to this article.
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com
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source https://perilofafrica.com/2021/12/u-s-s-sullivan-israels-bennett-seek-unity-on-containing-irans-nuclear-program.html
