Israel Seeks to Coordinate 'Plan B' with US on Iran

Bushehr nuclear facility, in south Iran (AFP)
Bushehr nuclear facility, in south Iran (AFP)
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Israel Seeks to Coordinate 'Plan B' with US on Iran

Bushehr nuclear facility, in south Iran (AFP)
Bushehr nuclear facility, in south Iran (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told CIA Director Bill Burns in a meeting on Wednesday that the US and Israel should start working on a joint strategy for a scenario in which Iran elects not to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, according to Israeli officials.

The issue was the focus of Burns' talks in Israel with Bennett, President Isaac Herzog, Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, and Mossad director David Barnea.

At the meeting, the Israeli intelligence community, foreign ministry, and other national security agencies think the likelihood of Iran deciding to return to the deal has waned in recent weeks after the election of new hardline President Ebrahim Raisi.

During the meeting, Bennett presented Burns with his assessment of and policy toward Iran. Israeli officials said their impression was that Burns was also skeptical about whether Iran was ready to return to full compliance with the deal.

The Israeli government is concerned that the US and other Western powers won't push back hard as Iran moves ahead with its nuclear program.

The Biden administration is still seeking a path back to the 2015 deal, but the talks are on hold as the new Iranian administration takes office.

On the eve of his meeting with Burns, Gantz said that Iran is the greatest threat to the stability of the world and the region alike and called on all countries to curb Iranian aggression.

Haaretz newspaper quoted officials saying that Israel tried to ensure that the US administration is ready to enlist the international community for a campaign of pressure against Iran in the event of not signing the agreement.

The newspaper quoted Israeli officials saying that an attempt was recently made to ensure that Washington can implement its plan by reaching a more stringent agreement and forcing Tehran to sign it.

They said that such a step requires directing a clear and tangible US military threat and imposing more severe economic and diplomatic sanctions, which isolates Iran.

According to an informed source, Israeli officials briefed Burns on intelligence reports that included data indicating significant progress in the Iranian nuclear program in the recent period.

Iran has exceeded the commitments stipulated in the 2015 nuclear agreement, which allowed Tehran to enrich uranium to a level of 3.67 percent and collect up to 300 kilograms.

According to Israeli estimates, Iran is now in possession of 10 kilograms of uranium enriched at a level of 60 percent, 140 kilograms enriched at 20 percent, and 2,500 kilograms enriched at 4 percent.

Iran uses hundreds of advanced centrifuges, although the original nuclear agreement forbids this, and that uranium enrichment takes place at the Fordo facility, contrary to the agreement, at a level of 20 percent.

Israel estimates that Iran is about two months away from becoming a nuclear state and resuming the treaty with the world powers would delay it by about four years.

"There is a strategic difference between Israel's approach and that of the US administration," explained an Israeli source.

The same source added: "Even if Israel does not declare it officially, our goal is to reach an agreement that will block the way or prevent Iran from achieving military nuclear capabilities. Israel is in favor of a deal. It is opposed to a bad deal."



Donald Trump Jr. Is Helping His Father Pick the Most Controversial Cabinet of Modern Times

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, November 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, November 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Donald Trump Jr. Is Helping His Father Pick the Most Controversial Cabinet of Modern Times

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, November 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, November 4, 2024. (Reuters)

Donald Trump Jr. has emerged as the most influential Trump family member in the transition as the president-elect builds the most controversial cabinet in modern US history, according to a half dozen sources with knowledge of his role, elevating inexperienced loyalists over more qualified candidates for top positions in his administration.

Trump, who fiercely prizes loyalty, has long relied on family members for political advice, but which relative has his ear is known to vary.

This time, it is Don Jr., who has helped cabinet contenders sink or rise to the fore - from championing Senator JD Vance as Trump's running mate to blocking former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from joining the cabinet, according to the sources, who include donors, personal friends and political allies.

Don Jr. is due to join conservative venture capital fund 1789 Capital, although one of the sources said he will continue to host his politics-focused podcast and support candidates that espouse Trump's brand of politics.

He will provide advice to his father in the White House, the source added, although they cautioned that Don Jr. was unlikely to be involved in day-to-day deliberations.

Don Jr. and the Trump-Vance transition team did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In addition to ensuring candidates are loyal to his father, Don Jr. typically seeks out contenders who embrace an anti-establishment worldview, including protectionist economic policies, and a reduction in military interventions and overseas aid, according to a handful of the sources and Don Jr.'s own comments on social media site X and in public.

Two of the candidates Don Jr. championed may face a rocky confirmation process in the Senate: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump plans to nominate as the top US health official, and Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump plans to nominate as intelligence chief.

Kennedy is an environmental activist who has spread misinformation on vaccines. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, implied that Russian President Vladimir Putin had valid grounds for invading Ukraine and stirred controversy when she met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the midst of his bloody crackdown on dissidents in 2017.

INFLUENTIAL - TO A POINT

Don Jr. was also instrumental in lobbying his father to pick his close friend Vance as Trump's running mate.

Vance was popular with Trump's base, but his anti-corporate rhetoric, opposition to Ukraine aid and past comments panning some Democratic women as "childless cat ladies" gave some donors and supporters pause.

Trump was ultimately happy with Vance, giving Don Jr. extra political capital as an adviser during the transition, one of the sources added.

Not all of Don Jr.'s picks have landed jobs.

He was keen on Ric Grenell, a personal friend and former ambassador to Germany, getting secretary of state, according to a separate source familiar with the matter. His father ended up picking Senator Marco Rubio, whose views are deemed by Trump's core supporters as too traditional and internationalist.

Two of the sources close to Don Jr. said he does not weigh in on all personnel decisions and is not working on the transition process or at Mar-a-Lago full time. He is also not expected to play a big role in vetting candidates for lower-level jobs, one of the sources close to him said.

"The reality this time is we actually know what we're doing," Don Jr. told Fox News earlier this month. "And it's about surrounding my father with people who are both competent and loyal."

FOLLOWING IN HIS SISTER'S FOOTSTEPS

Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were prominent in his 2016 presidential campaign, the subsequent transition and throughout his first term.

This time, they are far less active, although Kushner, formerly Trump's senior adviser who focused on the Middle East, told Reuters that he is briefing real estate investor Steve Witkoff on his new job as special envoy to the region.

"I have been working with Witkoff to get him up to speed on Trump's past efforts," Kushner said through a spokesperson.

A half-dozen sources close to Kushner said they expect him to be involved in Middle Eastern policy in an unofficial capacity.

Kushner, Ivanka and sibling Eric Trump, who runs the Trump Organization business, do not plan to join the new administration, according to their representatives as well as sources.

One source close to the transition said Trump does not appear to need his family for advice as much as in the past because of aides like Susie Wiles, who helped to run the most disciplined of his election campaigns to date.

Trump has named Wiles as his chief of staff, a powerful position in Washington.

"Stuff is really buttoned down," the source said of Trump's current team. "He may not need the family this time like he used to."