Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to confront the administration of US President Joe Biden on Iran, and he seeks to show a unified Israeli position on this issue, despite the disagreement with his Defense and Foreign ministers, Israeli sources said.
Netanyahu called for a meeting on Thursday to discuss Israel’s position on the possible US return to the nuclear agreement with Iran. The heads of the security services, along with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi have reportedly attended the meeting.
The Israeli premier’s call came following a conversation with Biden, the first since the latter assumed the US presidency. Israeli media said that Netanyahu aims to unify the Israeli position against “the United States’ changing stance towards the agreement with Iran,” but clashes with sharp internal disputes with Gantz and Ashkenazi.
Washington has expressed its readiness to return to the nuclear deal, if Iran showed full compliance with its obligations under the international agreement.
As Netanyahu prepares for a confrontation, Gantz and Ashkenazi are demanding calm and dialogue.
According to Israeli Maariv newspaper, the two ministers fear that the Israeli premier would face the same situation he experienced with the administration of former US President Barack Obama in 2015.
The newspaper added that they believe that Netanyahu was not concerned with the understandings and might repeat the same mistakes he made in 2015, when he failed to curb the nuclear agreement.
According to Gantz and Ashkenazi, it is in Israel’s interest to avoid a confrontation with the Biden administration and to convince it, instead, of the need for comprehensive improvements to the nuclear deal.
Israel fears that the Biden administration would revive a deal under which Iran would be able to continue enriching uranium, and obtain a financial exemption as well. It wants to introduce amendments to any new agreement with Tehran, with the aim of curbing its regional and nuclear ambitions.
