A phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken witnessed disagreements over two main issues, according to political sources in Tel Aviv and Washington.
Blinken reprimanded Netanyahu for breaching commitments on the Palestinian issue, and the latter responded by criticizing the US rush to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran.
The Israeli PM asserted that "no agreement with Iran is binding to Israel."
The two sides described the phone call as "positive" and touched on several issues, including military and intelligence cooperation reaching its highest levels.
Netanyahu's office said the Prime Minister and Secretary discussed regional challenges and opportunities.
The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the frank talks that took place recently in Washington between the two teams and for the close coordination between Israel and the United States.
However, Netanyahu said Israel is not bound to any nuclear agreement that does not entirely stop the Iranian nuclear program.
Netanyahu "expressed his appreciation for the military and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the United States, which is at an all-time high," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
The two discussed the challenges and opportunities in the region, it continued, adding that Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the "frank talks” that took place recently in Washington between the two teams.
The US State Department stated that Blinken and Netanyahu discussed areas of mutual interest, including expanding and deepening Israel's integration into the Middle East through normalization with regional countries.
Spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken and Netanyahu also discussed broader regional challenges, such as the threat posed by Iran, and underscored the United States ironclad commitment to Israel's security and 75-year-old partnership.
However, political sources in Tel Aviv confirmed the call with Netanyahu when Blinken was on his plane returning from Saudi Arabia after a three-day visit.
Blinken rebuked Netanyahu and told him that the White House was disappointed with the Israeli government's practices in the Palestinian territories, especially the restart of the Homesh settlement in the northern West Bank.
He considered it a violation of the commitments of the Netanyahu government made at the Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh meetings.
In Tel Aviv, several experts reported that significant differences are evident in all Israeli-US meetings and talks, including Netanyahu's call with Blinken.
They explained that these differences severely affect Israel's policy towards Iran and impede the possibility of launching significant strikes against it.
Military editor of Haaretz newspaper Amos Harel said that the new US-Iranian agreement would be turning the page on a possible Israeli air attack against nuclear facilities.
Harel added in a report that Iran would become a legitimate nuclear threshold state after the agreement, which would be an absolute collapse of Netanyahu's strategy to stop the Iranian nuclear program.
The military analyst of Ynet, Ron Ben-Yishai, wrote that Israel expressed its opposition to a nuclear agreement with Iran during dialogues with Washington and the recent army joint exercises.
Ben Yishai said the purpose of the Israeli army's maneuver is to remind Washington that even if they sign an interim agreement with Tehran, Tel Aviv will not be bound by it and will act against Iran following its interests.
He added that Netanyahu is taking advantage of the maneuver to tell the US that it is better to coordinate before rushing to sign an agreement with Iran.
The analyst noted that the Prime Minister wanted to tell US officials they would use the Israeli army following Israel's security interests, even if that contradicts Washington's global strategy.
The writer pointed out that Netanyahu is hinting at this, and not in a friendly way, but it would be more appropriate for Biden to invite him to Washington to meet to coordinate expectations and positions if he wants Israel to integrate into Western interests.
