Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister To Visit US Over Iran, Saudi Deal

Israel is concerned that the US does not understand its Iranian fears

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will lead a senior delegation to Washington next week for talks with US officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The discussions will focus on Iran and a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.

The trip comes amid reports of a deal negotiated between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with US involvement.

It also comes on the heels of the US and Iran reaching an agreement to release five Americans held by Tehran in exchange for several jailed Iranians and eventual Iranian access to $6 billion in oil revenue.

This delegation is trying to mend fences between the US and Israel, especially between the political figures in charge

Uzi Rabi, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, said the visit was necessary, given the recent deterioration of Israel-US relations.

President Joe Biden has lashed out at Israel for passing controversial judicial reform changes. He has also criticized the Israeli governing coalition for including “the most extreme members” he’s ever seen. Israeli cabinet ministers who back settling “anywhere they want” in the West Bank, President Biden has also said, are “part of the problem.”

“This delegation is trying to mend fences between the US and Israel, especially between the political figures in charge,” says Rabi.

The US and Iran reached a verbal understanding last week that led to the release of five Americans held prisoner by the Islamic Republic. In exchange, Washington approved Seoul’s release of $6 billion in Iranian funds held in South Korean banks.

Dermer’s upcoming trip to Washington “is an attempt to ensure the Americans realize that this recent understanding is not good for Israel,” Rabi said.

The administration needs to set aside its differences with the Israeli government, overcome its skittishness towards conflict with Iran, and begin to work closely with Jerusalem on preparing for the possibility that Israel will come to believe it has no choice but to carry out a military campaign against Iran’s nuclear program

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told the Media Line that the Biden Administration should prepare for a significant Israel-Iran conflict.

“The administration needs to set aside its differences with the Israeli government, overcome its skittishness towards conflict with Iran, and begin to work closely with Jerusalem on preparing for the possibility that Israel will come to believe it has no choice but to carry out a military campaign against Iran’s nuclear program,” says Diker.

“Israel is deeply concerned about the Iranian regime’s military nuclear program, which Israel, along with the Netherlands and Sweden, believe is close to being able to test a nuclear device. Iran regime is spinning advanced centrifuges to increase the uranium enrichment process rapidly,” said Diker.

Israeli officials are worried that the prisoner-for-oil-money swap between Washington and Teheran will pave the way for a formal agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

“Israel is very concerned that Iran is getting very close to 90% weapons-grade uranium,” Diker said, “and Iran is charging forward to complete ballistic missiles that can be equipped with nuclear capabilities.”

Diker said Israel sees Iran and its proxies challenging the Palestinian Authority’s control over West Bank cities such as Jenin, Nablus, and others overlooking Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport and its coastal towns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been deeply critical of the latest US-Iranian understanding.

“Arrangements that do not dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure do not stop its nuclear program,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement Saturday.

The US-Iranian understanding concerns Israel for two reasons, Rabi said. First, “it enables Iran to retain its nuclear abilities while recuperating economically and geopolitically while preventing Israel from attacking.”

Rabi says Israel is being put to the “test” by Iran’s allies in the region, as made evident by recent minor skirmishes along Israel’s border with Lebanon. Rabi fears these low-level tensions could explode into a full-fledged war.

Israel is also concerned that the Americans realize that Hizbullah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, are “being tempted” by Iran to “put Israel to the test,” Rabi said.

Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have stalled as tension in the Gulf increases. The US has sent extra troops to the Gulf to protect the oil fields there and tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

A close confidant of Netanyahu, Dermer is also critical of the Biden Administration’s approach to reviving the Iran nuclear agreement.

Last August, it appeared that Washington and Tehran were getting closer to inking a new deal to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, which limited Iran’s nuclear program.

Dermer made his feelings known then, harshly criticizing the Biden Administration’s Iran policies on the Diplomatically Incorrect podcast.

“The administration of President Biden does not have a policy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. They have a policy to contain a nuclear Iran,” Dermer said.

Dermer has taken other steps to undermine the White House’s Iran policy.

In 2015, Dermer helped orchestrate Netanyahu’s appearance in Congress, where he spoke out against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. At the time, many in the US viewed Netanyahu’s speech as an attempt to undermine former President Barack Obama. Ties between the two close allies reached a new low as a result.

The hawkish, American-born Israeli diplomat Dermer, who was serving as Israel’s envoy to the US at the time, worked hard behind the scenes to bring Netanyahu to Congress.

Former President Donald Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, arguing that it was not doing enough to permanently keep Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Biden campaigned on a pledge to restore the Iran deal and make it both longer and more robust. To date, however, his attempts to do so have failed.

The Biden Administration is also pushing to normalize diplomatic ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Reportedly, Riyadh has a list of demands before the normalization talks, including US support in a Saudi civilian nuclear program, a NATO-style defense pact between the Saudis and Washington, and greater Saudi access to US weapons.

Rabi says the upcoming Israeli delegation to Washington “would like to hear where things stand between Washington and Riyadh.”

At the same time, Riyadh and Tehran have recently resumed diplomatic ties after years of hostility.

Rabi says the Saudis remain anxious about Iran and seek ways to protect themselves, including with a new US-brokered deal with Israel. The US has long promised that Israel would be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, but that could soon change.

“If Saudi Arabia is in the picture and is provided with all these technologies and approval for a civilian nuclear program, where does that put Israel?” wondered Rabi. He said Israel wants a US guarantee that it will continue to have a dominant regional military edge.

“Israel is not looking for a military pact with the US,” Rabi explained. “Rather, it is looking for guarantees.”