Confronting Iran and Strengthening Relations: Two Goals of Ben-Gvir’s Trip to America

Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel, is heading to Washington to meet and hold talks with Joe Biden, President of the United States. Confronting Iran’s nuclear program and correcting errors in Israel-US relations have been announced as two objectives of this trip.

On Tuesday, August 24 (2nd of Shahrivar), Naftali Bennett will travel to Washington. During this trip, he will meet and hold talks with Joe Biden, President of the United States. This is Bennett’s first official visit to America since assuming the position of Prime Minister of Israel.

France’s news agency, reporting from Jerusalem, stated that finding a common solution to confront the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the main objectives of Bennett’s trip to America.

Bennett and Biden are scheduled to meet and talk on Thursday, August 26. Political relations between the two countries of Israel and the United States have been damaged following Joe Biden’s victory and Netanyahu’s positions against Democrats in America.

Israel has always followed “bipartisan policy” in regulating its relations with America. In other words, before Netanyahu’s period in power, this country had endeavored to regulate its relations with the White House regardless of which party was in power in America.

Netanyahu broke this rule of Israel’s foreign diplomacy. Not only did he openly criticize Barack Obama’s policies, but he also clearly expressed his support for Donald Trump and repeatedly called him Israel’s best friend in the White House.

Correcting Mistakes

Now it is being said that Naftali Bennett is traveling to this country with the aim of strengthening Israel’s relations with America. Yair Lapid, Israel’s Foreign Minister, also emphasized a similar approach during his June trip to America in a meeting with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken.

Lapid had said: “Mistakes have occurred in recent years. Israel’s bipartisan policy has been damaged. We are determined to correct these mistakes with America’s cooperation.”

Naftali Bennett’s approach regarding the sanctions against the Islamic Republic and its nuclear activities is, however, similar to the policy that Netanyahu pursued toward Iran.

Bennett is a staunch opponent of lifting sanctions against the Islamic Republic. He clarified before his trip to America: “I will tell the President of the United States, Joe Biden, that the time has come to prevent Iran’s actions. And we should not give them breathing room by returning to a nuclear agreement whose expiration date has passed.”

Naftali Bennett announced that Israel has prepared a plan to confront the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic over the past two months, and he will inform Biden of this plan.

Source: DW