Secretary of State Yair spoke today (Thursday) with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the United States State Department said.
The two discussed a variety of issues, including the challenges posed by Iran and the range of regional and global challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine. During the conversation, Blinken reiterated the US administration’s commitment to Israel’s security.
As a reminder, Iran, Russia, Britain, China, Germany, France and the US (indirectly) have been negotiating since June last year in an attempt to revive the original nuclear deal from 2015, an agreement left by the previous US administration in a unilateral move in 2019.
Negotiations reopened last Monday, and Israel’s political leaders estimate that it will end with a signed agreement. “It will be a shocking surprise if there is no agreement at the end,” a political source said.
The political source claimed that Israel was succeeding in influencing the position of the United States and the other powers taking part in negotiations with Iran: “The influence is in small things. Slowly we are succeeding in bringing the position of the United States closer to ours.”
However, the source emphasized that even if improvements are made to the emerging agreement, the chances of Israel supporting it are very low. “We are able to take two paths at the same time: also to make small improvements, but also to make it clear that we will not be committed to it and that we reserve the right to act in self-defense as we see fit,” he said.
At the same time, Lapid said on Monday that “Israel does not automatically oppose any agreement with Iran, but an agreement that is not good.” He also noted that Israel is in an “excavation war,” as he puts it, with the aim of making improvements to the agreement.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said that Western countries had withdrawn from some of their demands as they sought to reach new understandings that would allow the United States to return to the nuclear deal. From their maximum requirements. “There is now realism among Western representatives, who understand that they can not demand more than an agreement in the context of nuclear issues and give less than the removal of sanctions,” he explained.
Despite what appears to be significant progress towards the end of talks between the parties, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the Israeli leadership during his visit to Israel last month that the US had formulated a plan to impose penalties and sanctions on Iran in the event of failed negotiations. The others are expected to join them.
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