The Media Line asked Jerusalemites whether the historic meet will have an impact on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “comprehensive” document following a historic summit aimed at denuclearizing the hermit nation.
President Trump said he expected the denuclearization process to start “very, very quickly,” with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials to hold follow-up negotiations “at the earliest possible date.”
Notably, the American leader emphasized that sanctions on Pyongyang would remain in place for the time being. In the interim, Washington agreed to halt joint military exercises with South Korea.
For his part, Kim said that the two countries had “decided to leave the past behind” and that, as a result, “the world will see a major change.”
With the full details still shady, the question undoubtedly being asked in most Mideast capitals is how hard Washington will push for the total dismantlement of Pyongyang’s atomic infrastructure; this, in exchange for security guarantees and what will surely amount to billions of dollars in aid.
Indeed, many believe that Tuesday’s meet will be precedent-setting and go a long way towards shaping the White House’s course of action vis-à-vis Iran. Accordingly, ahead of the summit Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu—one of the foremost advocates of taking a hardline against the Mullahs—wished President Trump success in what he described as “the effort to prevent the spread of dangerous nuclear weapons in the world.” The Israeli leader—in addition to regional Sunni countries that view Tehran’s potential acquisition of atomic weapons as an intolerable, if not existential, threat—almost certainly would prefer to see the U.S. administration demand that Kim give up his entire program as a condition for any final agreement.
On the flip side, Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz noted that should the diplomatic process with Pyongyang again end in failure, this could prompt Iran to accelerate its nuclear program or perhaps even make a dash for the bomb.
As things stand, North Korea is in a more precarious situation than the Islamic Republic, which secured a windfall to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief as stipulated in the 2015 nuclear deal. Moreover, Tehran is much less isolated than Pyongyang and maintains diplomatic relations with most global powers. Lastly, the Islamic Republic has a formidable presence throughout the Middle East, through proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, a reality that provides it with further leverage.
As such, should President Trump manage to extract concessions from Kim, there is no guarantee that this would translate even into an Iranian willingness to come back to the negotiating table.
The Media Line took to the streets of Jerusalem to ask the average person whether the Trump-Kim summit will have an impact on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.