Biden-Bennett meeting: US and Israel besiege mullah regime

Nora Bandari

In the first meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, many messages and even threats were sent to the mullah regime regarding how Washington would deal with the Iranian nuclear program, in addition to the Israeli prime minister’s assertions that Iran is a source of concern and terrorism in the Middle East and must be confronted and prevented by all means from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

US-Israeli meeting

During the meeting, which was held in Washington, DC, on August 27 and focused on the Iranian threats, Biden assured Bennett that if the diplomacy approach fails to deal with the Iranian regime and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, then Washington will take several other options about dealing with Iran.

What threatens the Iranian regime greatly is Biden’s announcement that his country supports the Israeli army to confront any threat from Iran, revealing America’s efforts to equip the Israeli army’s Iron Dome missile defense system with the required missiles.

Biden’s statements were welcomed by Bennett, who stressed that his country considers Tehran the number one source of terrorism in the region and that all concerned countries should prevent the Iranian regime from operating centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear plant, indicating that this requires a plan to contain Iran and force it to conclude negotiations to stop its nuclear program and prevent it from expanding its presence in the region.

Vienna negotiations

It should be noted that the visit of the Israeli prime minister coincides with the suspension of nuclear negotiations held in the Austrian capital Vienna to revive the nuclear agreement and Washington’s recent calls for the Iranian regime to abandon its hard stance regarding the Vienna negotiations in order for the United States to return to the agreement. In this context, Bennett went to Washington to try to persuade Biden not to return to the nuclear agreement.

Prior to the Biden-Bennett meeting, the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Aviv Kohavi, announced that the Israeli army was preparing a military plan in order to deter Iranian influence in the region and confront the progress made in the Iranian nuclear program.

In the context of the foregoing, questions have been raised about the options that Washington could take regarding Iran if the latter did not stop developing its nuclear weapons, and what are the hidden messages behind the meeting between the US president and the Israeli prime minister at that particular time?

Alternative options

In order to answer these questions, Dr. Masoud Ibrahim Hassan, a researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, explained that this meeting came in order to put pressure on Iran, which is trying to gain more time to reach its goal, especially possessing the technology needed to produce nuclear weapons.

Hassan pointed out in a special statement to the Reference that the military option is unlikely, because it harms all parties, and Washington would be greatly affected by the military option, which is prompting it to study alternative options in this regard, including concluding a separate agreement between Iran and the United States away from the 2015 nuclear agreement. The last option is imposing more sanctions on Tehran, especially on oil, putting pressure on the Iranian economy, which is on the edge of the abyss as a result of US sanctions.

Israeli targets

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Ebadi, a researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, explained that the meeting came within the framework of Israel’s attempts to confront Iran’s progress in its nuclear file and to determine future options in this regard.

Ebadi made it clear in an exclusive statement to the Reference that Bennett is trying to persuade Washington to abandon any flexibility in relations with Iran and move to the square of rough dealing, whether by continuing sanctions, building international alliances to confront Iran, or allowing Israel to carry out military strikes against the infrastructure of the Iranian nuclear program.

He added that what collides with Israeli desires is Biden and his team’s adherence to a diplomatic solution with Iran, the continuation of negotiations slowly, and pressure with side tools until a compromise is reached for the two parties. On the other hand, Biden’s plans are stumbling in the face of Iranian conditions that want to spare the activities of its support for militias or its missile program in any future agreement, which Biden’s team adheres to, taking into account the fears of Washington’s allies in the region.