Yaïr Lapid expresses to Anthony Blinken his “strong reservations” on Iranian nuclear power

Published on : 06/28/2021 – 07:56

The Iranian nuclear issue dominated the first meeting in Rome, Sunday, June 27, between the new head of Israeli diplomacy Yair Lapid and his American counterpart Antony Blinken. The representative of the Hebrew state expressed “strong reservations” regarding the negotiations to relaunch the agreement with Tehran, while stressing its desire to calm dialogue with its allies.

Yaïr Lapid, architect of the coalition that ended the reign of Benjamin Netanyahu and who is expected to become prime minister later, traveled to Rome to discuss face-to-face with Antony Blinken, who arrived in the Italian capital in the middle of the day as part of the ‘a visit to three European countries.

This interview comes against the backdrop of negotiations aimed at bringing the United States back into the 2015 Vienna nuclear accord on Iran, from which former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country three years later.

Israel opposes the deal, which forced Tehran to cut back its nuclear program in exchange for easing international sanctions. But the Iranian authorities freed themselves from certain commitments after the American withdrawal. New US President Joe Biden has decided to negotiate a return of his country to the deal.

Preserving the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

“Israel has strong reservations about the Iranian nuclear deal being negotiated in Vienna,” said Yair Lapid at the opening of his meeting with Antony Blinken. But he also said he wanted to settle the differences of view with Washington behind the scenes, breaking with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We believe that these differences [entre l’État hébreu et Washingtonn NDLR] must be discussed in direct and professional exchanges “, he said. Joe Biden and Antony Blinken also wish to preserve the fragile ceasefire that entered into force on May 21 between Israel and the armed Islamist movement Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The truce came after eleven days of fighting – the worst since 2014 – which left 260 dead on the Palestinian side and 13 on the Israeli side, according to local sources. And which have aroused strong criticism internationally.

Yair Lapid, who became head of Israeli diplomacy on June 13 with nationalist Naftali Bennett as prime minister, accused Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering the unwavering support of the United States by lining up behind Donald Trump’s Republican party. “In recent years, mistakes have been made. We are going to correct these mistakes,” Yaïr Lapid assured Sunday evening.

The new Israeli government, which seeks a peaceful relationship with its main historical ally, also sees the Islamic Republic of Iran as a significant threat to Israel and has carried out its own strikes in the Gaza Strip. But he has pledged to prioritize his alliance with Washington and try to remain low-key about their differences.

Calm tensions

Yair Lapid pledged in mid-June to improve dialogue with the American Democratic Party and European countries, qualifying these relations respectively as “dangerous” and “hostile” under Benjamin Netanyahu.

Antony Blinken welcomed Yair Lapid’s statements, stressing that the United States was determined to “work closely” with the new Israeli government. “As is the case with the closest friends, we will have differences of view from time to time,” he admitted. “We have the same goals. Sometimes we differ on tactics.”

As tensions remain high in Israel after the May violence, a motley coalition has recently ruled the Hebrew state, and political uncertainties persist in the Palestinian Authority, the Biden team has made it clear not to seek to hastily put together peace initiatives in the Middle East.

The head of the American diplomacy indicated in Paris that the priority was to find out how to deliver humanitarian aid and rebuild the Gaza Strip, an enclave of extreme poverty and very densely populated. The hope is to see the emergence “of conditions which may allow to relaunch a peace process and the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine,” Antony Blinken said in French.

He reiterated that the Biden administration was planning to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to reopen its offices in Washington. This closure was ordered by Donald Trump, to the satisfaction of the Israeli authorities.

During his three-day visit to Italy, Antony Blinken is due to meet Pope Francis on Monday, the Sovereign Pontiff’s first meeting with a high-ranking official in the Biden administration. He is also due to participate in meetings of the G20 and the coalition fighting against the Islamic State organization.

With AFP