Israeli officials have expressed concern that they have lost the ability to impact understandings being formulated between the Administration of US President Joe Biden and Iran regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.
The US and Iran have recently made progress in reaching new understandings regarding the nuclear program, the officials said, adding that this will impose an isolation on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Washington was recently visited by Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and the chairman of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, for talks with senior administration officials, dealing among other things with the Iranian issue.
The White House and State Department continue to convey that new understandings are not on the immediate agenda and will need much more time. But Israeli officials believe that such understandings may be reported in coming weeks, and perhaps even days.
Today, the Senate (which ratifies foreign treaties) is in Democratic hands, while the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is minuscule. Israel will have an even harder time raising significant Congressional opposition to the Biden administration this time, even if it tried to do so, Haaretz reported.
On the European front, Israeli officials believe that many countries in Europe have grown closer to the Israeli position over the past year, mostly due to Iran’s involvement in the Ukraine War.
European countries have imposed a series of new economic sanctions on Iran in response to the aid it provides to the Russian invasion.
Israel views this economic pressure favorably, but the diplomatic echelon does not expect this new reality to induce Germany, France, and the UK to significantly toughen their stance in the nuclear talks.
“There’s a difference between sympathizing with Israel’s fear of Iran, and breaking the unified Western front with the United States,” one source said.
Europe is also motivated by concern of the talks breaking down and a slide into a military conflict with Iran, which would force the United States to divert resources from Ukraine back to the Middle East.
“That’s a nightmare we’re not even willing to consider, right now,” a senior Western diplomat told Haaretz. “War with Iran would harm Western unity against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, which is the most important thing to Europe right now. So even those who oppose some of the concessions, will have to say yes to Biden.”
