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The hopes signed by US President Joe Biden over a nuclear deal with Iran put the new Israeli government ahead of a strategic dilemma. He has basically two options: to adhere to the policy of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected any deal that could have been partial to lifting sanctions with Iran, or to take the “if you can’t overcome them, unite” approach. In collaboration with the Biden administration and trying to plug the holes it identifies in the emerging agreement.
At his first meeting with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blink on June 27, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said what direction the new government could take. “We believe the way to discuss these disagreements is through a direct and professional interview, not a press conference,” Lapid said. That would be the complete opposite of Netanyahu’s aggressive campaign against the 2015 deal, when the Obama administration rejected the offer before the deal was closed.
The agreement, which was limited to 10 to 15 years for some provisions, was not perfect. However, Israeli defense officials stressed that it was much better than no agreement at all, forcing Tehran to abandon the enriched uranium stored and accept an unprecedented inspection regime at its facilities.
Netanyahu went on the backs of Obama to mobilize Congress against the 2015 deal, but failed. The agreement was signed. Netanyahu then took advantage of the close relationship he formed with President Donald Trump and Republicans, which had a major impact on the U.S.’s withdrawal from the 2018 deal. What did Israel get out of this other than the anger and frustration of other signatories – Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France?
Biden’s presidential candidate answered that question in December 2020, a few weeks before he went to the White House, and opposition to the deal with Iran yielded the opposite of what his opponents wanted. “[Iran] they increased their ability to be nuclear material. They are approaching the ability to have enough material for a nuclear weapon, ”he said.
Biden’s criticism of Trump in January 2020 can also be read as Netanyahu’s criticism of the US pulling Iran out of the deal. Biden said in a speech in Nevada that “everything that has happened in Iran and Iraq in recent weeks has led Trump away from a nuclear deal that had great international support in 2018.”
Netanyahu, of course, does not acknowledge his tremendous failure in the area where he claimed fame as “Mr. Security”. From opposition banks in the Knesset, it continues to push against efforts to renew its nuclear deal with Iran. Naftali Bennett and Lapid are breathing down the necks of Prime Minister, accusing them of harming Israel’s security interests by pledging to warn the US in advance of any military action against Iran.
“If there were no surprises, we would not be able to destroy the Iraqi reactor,” Netanyahu said of the 1981 Israeli bombing of an unfinished nuclear reactor near Baghdad. He also suggested that the US repeatedly ask him to do so, but declined.
On the first day he took office, Lapid said one of his first tasks would be to restore Israel’s ties to the Democrats. He continued with Blinken at a meeting on June 27 in Rome. “In recent years, mistakes have been made,” Lapid told Blinken. “Israel’s bipartisanship was hurt. We will fix these mistakes together. “
The breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations would force Bennett to make the decision to “go with the flow” or endanger double problems, at home with the U.S. and other world powers, and with Lapid and members of the center-left government. The Biden administration has made no secret of its attempts to nurture relations with the new Israeli government.
Israeli prime ministers have always stressed that when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program, “all options are on the table.” That is, Israel does not rule out attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, when the occupier of the Oval Office is a rational leader who wants to resolve conflicts peacefully, rather than a free cannon, that option is not really an option.
On the other hand, if the negotiations end, not because of Israeli opposition, and if Iran manages to get nuclear weapons in one of these days, a squadron to attack the Israeli air force will head to the nuclear facility under an international solidarity umbrella.
Netanyahu’s double failure — the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear program and the crisis in relations with Democrats — should teach Bennett an important lesson. Israel cannot defeat the US. He also ends up losing when he wins.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the attitude of Al Jazeera’s editorial.
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