US official meets with Israeli PM on Iran nuclear deal talks. As international powers seek to negotiate a new nuclear agreement with Iran, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, urging for a “shared strategy.”
During the Wednesday meetings, Bennett warned that the Vienna talks on Iran’s nuclear programme would have “deep ramifications” for Israeli security.
Bennett’s administration has remained staunchly opposed to international efforts to resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw Iran agree to limit its nuclear programmes in exchange for respite from sanctions.
Former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord in 2018, instead launching a campaign of “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran, which broke the deal’s terms.
Sullivan said his travel to Israel came at a “critical point” on Wednesday.
“It’s important that we sit together and develop a common strategy, a common outlook, and find a way forward that fundamentally secures your country’s interests and mine,” Sullivan said, according to an Israeli government statement.
He did not mention Iran specifically, but according to an Israeli statement, the conversation was focused on the Vienna talks, which are slated to enter their eighth round soon.
Bennett has demanded a halt to the talks, accusing Iran of “nuclear blackmail” and alleging that cash from sanctions release will be used to obtain weapons to harm Israelis.
“What happens in Vienna has profound ramifications for the stability of the Middle East and the security of Israel for the upcoming years,” Bennett told Sullivan, according to his office.
Sullivan also met with his Israeli counterpart Eyal Hulata as part of the US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group on Wednesday.
“The delegations discussed the need to confront all aspects of the threat posed by Iran, including its nuclear program, destabilizing activities in the region, and support for terrorist proxy groups,” the White House said in a statement describing the meeting.
“They agreed that Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program poses a grave threat to the region and to international peace and security.”
Sullivan also briefed the Israeli team on the status of the Vienna talks, emphasizing that the US and Israel are “united in their conviction” that Iran should never obtain a nuclear weapon.
If Tehran’s nuclear operations continue at their current rate, US lead negotiator Rob Malley told CNN on Tuesday that there are just “a few weeks” remaining to save the deal.
“It really depends on the pace of their nuclear process,” said Malley, the US special envoy for Iran. “If they halt the nuclear advances, we have more time.
“If they continue at their current pace, we have some weeks left but not much more than that, at which point the conclusion will be there’s no deal to be revived,” he said.
Iran claims to solely be interested in developing a domestic nuclear programme.
Sullivan will also meet with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah, which is located in the occupied West Bank, during his trip.
