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Israeli Premier to Visit White House, Invited to Cairo

Israel’s new prime minister will make his debut appearance at the White House next week if nothing in the fight against COVID-19 delays his departure. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters on Wednesday that he will arrive for his meeting with President Biden “prepared and focused and with the aim to partner with the United States in combating Iran’s growing belligerence.” Before his election, President Biden spoke of returning to the nuclear development agreement that was signed in 2015 between Tehran and six world powers and fell apart when former president Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord. But the Biden administration is finding restoration efforts slow going. After six attempts to come to understandings at negotiating sessions held in Vienna, there has been no discernable progress. Matters are further muddied by the election of an Islamist extremist as Iran’s new president. Ebrahim Raisi is seen by Mideast experts as a walking obstacle to peace. All of this comes against the background of low intensity warfare typified by frequent strikes against Iranian military assets, admittedly Israeli in Syria and presumably so on Iranian soil. Raisi, meanwhile, is not considered one to hesitate to execute actions by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. On Wednesday, PM Bennett was invited to become the first Israeli prime minister in 20 years to pay an official visit to Cairo. The invitation was delivered by Egypt’s visiting head of military intelligence but no details were revealed.