Israel urged US for “direct and professional talks” to discuss Iran nuclear deal

The government of Israel has taken advantage of the tour that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is carrying out in Europe, reiterate its concern about the negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal which were taken over after Joe Biden came to power.

“Israel has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal that is being worked out in Vienna. We believe that the way to discuss these disagreements is through direct and professional conversations, not through press conferences. “Yair Lapid, Israeli Foreign Minister, told Blinken during a meeting in Rome, during which they also discussed the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

The head of Israeli diplomacy said that in the last few years mistakes have been made in bilateral relations between the administration of the former prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu and the former president Donald Trump.

“We will correct these mistakes together.”Lapid said.

The Israeli Foreign Minister, architect of the heterogeneous coalition that ousted Netanyahu from power and future prime minister under the government pact, traveled to Rome to meet Blinken, who is concluding a European tour in Italy that includes Germany and the United Kingdom. France.

The two foreign officials will analyze, in addition to the negotiations to re-establish the Vienna agreement on Iranian nuclear capacity in 2015, the preservation of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza following the recent eleven-day armed confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Blinken’s meeting with Lapid is the first personal contact between Joe Biden’s administration and the coalition that ultimately ended Netanyahu’s tenure, led by Naftali Bennett.

Biden has decided to negotiate a return of his country to the agreement, which provides for an easing of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic if it cuts its nuclear development program.

Israel’s new government wants to minimize differences with its main historical ally and improve dialogue with the now-ruling American Democratic Party after Netanyahu aligned himself with Republican Donald Trump’s assumptions.

Lapid, who in two years is due to exchange his duties with the current nationalist Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, described as “dangerous” and “hostile” the relations of the Netanyahu government with the Democratic party and the European countries.

Blinken welcomed Lapid’s remarks and stressed that the United States is determined to “work closely” with the new Israeli government. “As is the case with close friends, we have differences from time to time (…) We have the same goals. Sometimes we have differences of tactics, ”he added.

As the West continues to discuss the nuclear deal with Iran, the Persian regime is escalating the tension, after announcing it will not deliver images of its nuclear facilities to the UN.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, the Conservative Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, announced that the records of Persian power plants will not be turned over to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations agency. The United States and France warned a few days ago that the time to negotiate was running out.

For their part, tensions are still high in Israel and Palestine after the May war, which left 260 dead on the Palestinian side and 13 on the Israeli side and drew strong international criticism.

The White House is not currently seeking a peace deal in the region.

Israel’s new government views Iran as a threat and has pledged to prioritize its alliance with the United States and try to remain low-key about their differences.

In Paris, Blinken reported that their priority is the entry of humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, a densely populated and extremely poor enclave devastated in the recent conflict.

The hope is to see the emergence of “conditions which allow the relaunch of a peace process and the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine” but, for the moment, “there are no such conditions, “said the US Secretary of State.

He also asked “to avoid in the days, weeks and months to come provocations and points of contention that could reactivate violence”.

The Biden administration wants to become less involved in some conflicts in the Middle East and end the crossfire of the Trump presidency with its European allies to focus on China’s long-term strategy.

During his stopover in Italy, Blinken will meet Pope Francis and attend meetings of the G20 and the coalition against the jihadist group Islamic State.

With information from AFP

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