Biden to Israeli PM: U.S. has options if Iran nuclear diplomacy fails
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[August 28, 2021]
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden
told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in White House talks on
Friday that he was putting "diplomacy first" to try to rein in Iran's
nuclear program but that if negotiations fail he would be prepared to
turn to other unspecified options.
After a one-day delay due to a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul during
the chaotic U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan, Biden and Bennett held
their first meeting seeking to reset U.S.-Israeli relations and narrow
differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear advances.
Tensions complicated relations between Bennett's predecessor, Benjamin
Netanyahu, who was close to former President Donald Trump, and the last
Democratic administration led by Barack Obama, with Biden as his vice
president.
But the meeting was eclipsed by Thursday’s attack outside Kabul airport
that killed at least 92 people, including 13 U.S. service members,
confronting Biden with the worst crisis of his young presidency.
“The mission there ... is dangerous and now it's come with a significant
loss of American personnel, but it's a worthy mission," Biden told
reporters after talks with Bennett.
U.S. forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee new Taliban
rule were on alert for more attacks, and on Friday night they launched a
drone strike against an Islamic State target in eastern Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, both leaders touched on Iran,
one of the thorniest issues between them, but mostly they papered over
their disagreements.
Biden said they discussed “our commitment to ensure Iran never develops
a nuclear weapon.”
“We're putting diplomacy first and we'll see where that takes us. But if
diplomacy fails, we're ready to turn to other options,” Biden added,
without offering specifics. A White House statement issued later said
the two also "reviewed steps to deter and contain Iran’s dangerous
regional behavior."
Bennett, a far-right politician who ended Netanyahu's 12-year run as
prime minister in June, was expected to press Biden in private to harden
his approach to Iran and back out of negotiations aimed at reviving an
international nuclear deal with Tehran that Trump abandoned.
U.S.-Iran talks have stalled as Washington awaits the next move by
Iran's new hardline president.
"I was happy to hear your clear words that Iran will never be able to
acquire a nuclear weapon," Bennett told Biden. "You emphasized that
you'll try the diplomatic route but there's other options if that
doesn't work out," he added, also stopping short of identifying the
possibilities.
MOVING ON FROM NETANYAHU
Bennett has sought to move on from Netanyahu’s combative public style
and instead manage disagreements behind closed doors between Washington
and its closest Middle East ally.
But he has been just as adamant as Netanyahu was in pledging to do
whatever is necessary to prevent Iran, which Israel views as an
existential threat, from building a nuclear weapon. Iran consistently
denies it is seeking a bomb.
Bennett told reporters that Israel has developed a "comprehensive
strategy" to keep Iran away from nuclear breakout and stop its "regional
aggression."
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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a meeting with
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Willard Hotel in
Washington, D.C., U.S. August 25, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via
REUTERS
Alluding to Israel's threats of military action and
the billions of dollars in U.S. military aid it receives, Bennett
said: "It's our responsibility to take care of our fate, but we do
thank you for the tools … you’ve been giving us."
The visit gave Biden an opportunity to demonstrate business as usual
with a key partner while grappling with the aftermath of the Afghan
attack. His handling of the wrapping-up of the U.S. military
presence there after 20 years of war has not only hurt his approval
ratings at home but also raised questions about his credibility
among both friends and foes abroad.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden and Bennett remain far
apart. Biden, according to the White House statement, reiterated
support for a two-state solution, after Trump distanced himself from
that longstanding tenet of U.S. policy. Bennett opposes Palestinian
statehood.
Biden made only a brief reference to the issue in his remarks. But
the White House said he "underscored the importance of steps to
improve the lives of Palestinians."
Bennett did not mention the Palestinians in his remarks.
The consensus among Biden's aides is that now is not the time to
push for a resumption of long-dormant peace talks or major Israeli
concessions, which could destabilize Bennett's ideologically diverse
coalition.
But Biden's aides say privately they hopes Bennett will make at
least make modest gestures to help avoid a recurrence of the
Israel-Hamas fighting in the Gaza Strip earlier this year.
Though the White House made no mention of Biden's opposition to
further expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land, it said he
stressed "the importance of refraining from actions that could
exacerbate tensions."
Bennett, 49, the son of American immigrants to Israel, has been a
vocal proponent of settlements.
The leaders also discussed "new opportunities" to expand Israel's
relations with the Arab world, the White House said, after
normalization agreements reached under Trump with the United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
The delay in the meeting meant that Bennett, an Orthodox Jew who
does not travel on the Sabbath, would remain in Washington until
after sundown on Saturday.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem; Editing by
Howard Goller)
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