Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet holding talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on August 25, 2021
Washington D.C: Iran remained in top of the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who had separate meetings with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, here on August 25, 2021.
“We’re going to be talking about a bunch of issues, primarily how do we fend off and curtail Iran’s pursuit to dominate the region and its race to a nuclear weapon. We will also talk about regional stability and climate change, which is an issue for all of us,” Bennet told Blinken in course of their meeting.
It was already expected that Israel’s new leader would press Biden to give up pursuit of reviving the Iran nuclear deal, and even before his departure to Washington for his first official visit to the USA, Bennet had made a statement that “We will deal with many fronts, especially the Iranian front, and especially the jump in the Iranian nuclear program over the past two or three years. In particular, we will discuss the plan to block this program.”
Israel under Bennet is of the view that the US should not to return to the nuclear deal. It argues that since Iran had already advanced in its uranium enrichment, sanctions relief would offer it more resources to back Israel’s enemies in the region.
While Bennet and Blinken discussed regional security issues, including Iran, with the latter reiterating the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, Austin had a wide range of discussions with the Israeli Prime Minister over the threats posed by Iran’s nuclear program, support of terrorism and maritime aggression. They agreed to cooperate on air and missile defense and countering unmanned aerial systems.
Secretary Austin affirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and Qualitative Military Edge. The Secretary stressed the United States’ commitment to broader stability in the Middle East region, including through its military relationships with longstanding partners. The US also conveyed its views on strategic competition and highlighted the Administration’s support for replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome Missile Defense System.
The leaders agreed to continue to strengthen close coordination between the two countries’ defense establishments in support of these objectives.
In the meantime, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki informed that Bennet and US President Joe Biden, in their first ever face to face meeting after Bennet took over as Israel’s President, were expected to have a wide ranging conversation, to cover a range of topics of mutual interest — everything from COVID-19 and our efforts to address the global pandemic, to regional security issues, which could include a range of topics, including security within Israel as well as Iran and other issues of mutual concern.
– global bihari bureau
