Lapid to Blinken: Israel Has Serious Concerns About US Return to JCPOA
Israel’s foreign minister said on Sunday, June 27, at his first meeting with his American counterpart that his country has “serious concerns” regarding the possible return of the United States to the JCPOA.
Yair Lapid, in a meeting with Antony Blinken held in Rome, the capital of Italy, said that Israel’s position regarding Iran remains unchanged.
He stated that Israel achieved “significant gains” in the agreement resulting from the Vienna negotiations.
Israel’s foreign minister did not elaborate on these “gains” but added that a press conference by the foreign ministers of the two countries is not the appropriate place to state positions regarding Iran, but rather these matters are discussed in direct expert-level negotiations between Israel and the United States.
According to Lapid, Israel and the United States have concerns about the method of achieving objectives, although the objectives themselves are the same. The US secretary of state remained silent in response to Yair Lapid’s statements.
The meeting between Israel’s and America’s foreign ministers is the second high-level meeting between Naftali Bennett’s government officials and the Biden administration. Last week, General Aviv Kohavi, chief of staff of the Israeli army, traveled to Washington for talks about Iran.
Naftali Bennett, prime minister, and Benny Gantz, Israel’s defense minister, announced Thursday of last week that Israel consults, confers, and exchanges information with friendly and allied countries about Iran but continues to reserve all rights for itself.
The United States and its Western allies have warned Iran that negotiations cannot continue indefinitely. Iran, in turn, by hardening its stance, has said that it was not inclined from the outset to have the negotiations dragged out, and moreover, Tehran did not extend its technical agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding that agency’s access to footage of activities at Iran’s nuclear sites.
The Naftali Bennett government has emphasized that through influencing the United States and engaging with Washington, it seeks to dissuade Washington from returning to the JCPOA or to incorporate Israel’s views into the agreement. This is while Benjamin Netanyahu had strictly prohibited any engagement with the United States in connection with Iran.
Emphasis on Support for Abraham Accords
According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the Rome meeting that the Joe Biden administration not only supports the Abraham Accords but hopes that these accords will expand further. These accords were reached during the previous US administration between Israel and a number of Arab countries.
Nevertheless, the US secretary of state said that the Abraham Accords are not a substitute for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr. Blinken asked Yair Lapid that the new Israeli government attach importance to humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and its reconstruction in order to resolve “a humanitarian crisis.”
Meanwhile, according to Israeli media reports, Mr. Lapid told the US secretary of state that the new Israeli government will correct “past mistakes” towards the United States.
His reference was to the very close relationship of the previous Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership to the Republican Party and the years-long neglect by Israeli officials of the US Democratic Party.
Yair Lapid acknowledged that bipartisan support in the United States for Israel had been “tarnished” due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies and his very close relationship with Donald Trump, but added that the two countries would make up for this situation.
Israel’s foreign minister also said that in the two weeks since his country’s new government came to power, he has had telephone conversations with many Democratic and Republican US leaders and has emphasized the common values of the two countries.
Source: Radio Farda
