Israel is carrying out an “intensive campaign” to prevent the revival of the “dangerous” nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday.
His comments come after the United States last week characterized Tehran’s latest response to efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear accord as “not constructive.”
Lapid said the government was “hard at work” on the campaign, citing Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is responsible for the Iran portfolio.
Mossad Director David Barnea will head for Washington, D.C., on Monday for a series of meetings to express Israel’s position to the Biden administration about the dangers of an agreement, the prime minister added.
He also referred to his telephone call with U.S. President Joe Biden on Aug. 31, in which he addressed Israel’s concerns.
Lapid rejected criticism that his government was taking too cautious an approach with the U.S. administration. (Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party attacked the government last week for what they characterized as weak handling of the Iran issue.)
“To those who say we are not shouting loud enough, or are not outspoken enough, I recall what really happened in the past,” Lapid said, according to a government press statement. “In 2015, when Israel insisted on an unnecessary confrontation with the [Obama] administration, it was a complete failure. The Americans simply stopped listening to us. It damaged our relationship with them, and they went and signed a bad agreement.
“The correct policy is the one we have led over the past year: to continue the pressure but without going too far. To present credible intelligence, to be part of the process without destroying our special relationship with the U.S.,” he added.
“I say this cautiously, but in the meantime, it is working. The reservations that we have presented to the American administration have been taken into account,” said Lapid.
The United States last week received Tehran’s response to comments it had sent on Aug. 24 regarding a “final” E.U. draft of a revived nuclear deal.
“We are studying it and will respond through the E.U., but unfortunately it is not constructive,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. JNS
Is there any way I can get free tickets to tonight’s assifa in Deal for Lee Zeldin with President Trump in attendance?
When informed of Lapid’s comments regarding the “intensive campaign” that Israel is waging to prevent the signing of the “dangerous” Iranian nuclear agreement, President Biden told reporters, “Bless Lapid’s soul, and may the best man win, because I’m waging an intensive campaign to ensure that the dangerous agreement is signed.”
Biden went on to say: “While I take the security needs of Israel, the Gulf states and the entire Free World very seriously, I also take the security needs of Obama’s legacy and my legacy very seriously too. It is my sworn duty to protect both of our legacies from undue harm.”
Biden added: “Furthermore, the Iranian economy hinges on the signing of this deal, and without a robust economy, the Iranian regime can not fund their extra curricular military activities. So, it’s either a nuclear deal, or a weak Iranian regime, and I’m not about to watch this regime, or any regime, for that matter, fall by the wayside simply because I couldn’t put my signature to a piece of paper.”
Sadly that sounds like something Biden would say.