Israel is concerned that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has set the stage for a U.S. pivot to Iran, said Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, former IDF attache to Washington, this week.
“[U.S. officials] see Iran as a source of stability in the Middle East. They look at their traditional allies that are not so stable, Egypt, Saudis, Israel maybe and Turkey. Maybe Iran is a better regional ally,” he told an audience including leaders from the U.S. Jewish community who are mostly concerned that the Iran nuclear deal will have dire consequences for the Jewish state.
Still, Yadlin said he had not specifically heard this from Obama administration officials, and he added that “I don’t think this is the case.”
“But music like this is heard in Washington,” he said.
Israeli concerns that the U.S. has abandoned its traditional Middle East allies predate the Iran nuclear deal, however — many officials in Jerusalem felt the Obama administration had given tacit approval for the removal of traditional U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president who was forced to step down during the Arab Spring uprisings in his country in 2011 and who was replaced by a leader from the Muslim Brotherhood, unnerving Israel even more.
And with the Iran deal, many Arab leaders in the Gulf states have expressed similar concerns, though U.S. officials have sought to allay these fears by promising to boost security cooperation and arms sales.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
