Iran Nuclear Deal Tensions Leaking Out From Behind Closed Doors

Prime Minister Lapid has vowed to keep under wraps his opposition to President Biden’s desire to renew the 2015 Iran deal. Yet public disagreements keep popping up — including today’s apparent snub of the Israeli national security adviser, who is in Washington to detail Jerusalem’s concerns. The adviser, Eyal Hulata, was widely expected to meet Secretary Blinken today to discuss what Israeli officials have leaked to the press as “growing concerns” over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’s renewal.Even as Washington seems to move ever closer to agreeing to a renewal of the deal, Mr. Blinken was unavailable to discuss the matter today with Mr. Hulata. “I don’t expect we will be in a position to arrange a meeting between the national security adviser and the secretary,” the state department’s spokesman, Ned Price, told reporters who asked why the meeting didn’t take place today. He added: “There will be high-level consultations between the national security adviser and individuals in this building, in addition to any other interlocutors that Mr. Hulata will be meeting with this week.”He noted that the administration is studying the latest Iranian response to a European Union proposal that was meant to be the “final offer” for renewing the JCPOA. Mr. Biden remains convinced that the diplomatic breakthrough of 2015 is the best option to deal with Tehran’s fast-advancing nuclear program. “A deal is closer now than it was two weeks ago,” Mr. Price said, adding: “But the outcome of these ongoing discussions still remains uncertain as gaps do remain.” In briefings at Jerusalem, Israeli officials told reporters that Mr. Lapid has made clear to Mr. Biden that the EU draft agreement being discussed with Iran “goes beyond the parameters of the 2015 nuclear deal and isn’t in line with the Biden administration’s own red lines.”In a Jerusalem meeting with the American ambassador in Israel, Tom Nides, and a visiting Democratic congressman, Ted Deutch, Mr. Lapid reportedly said that “it is time to walk off” the negotiating table. In a conference call over the weekend with Prime Minister Johnson of Britain, President Macron of France, and Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Mr. Biden “discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint efforts to deter and constrain Iran’s destabilizing regional activities,” the White House said in a statement Sunday. Mr. Lapid made the rounds with the same European leaders as well. “I just spoke with my friend, President @EmmanuelMacron,” Mr. Lapid tweeted today. “We discussed the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran cannot be allowed to endlessly buy time and receive more concessions while it advances its nuclear program and spreads terror worldwide.”Officials of the Islamic Republic contend that they have positively answered the European entreaty. Yet, they added, some of their reservations remain. “We’ve shown the flexibility required in response to the EU,” but “we have yet to get any response from the U.S.,” a spokesman for the Tehran foreign ministry said today. Tehran is accusing Washington of dragging its feet in responding to the European proposal. “I can guarantee to you that we will not take one day longer than is necessary to provide our response to the EU,” Mr. Price said in today’s daily briefing at Foggy Bottom. He assured reporters that the administration is studying the latest draft, and is in deep consultations with allies, including Israel.Yet, that Mr. Hulata was unable to convey Israel’s concerns directly to Mr. Blinken may point to a deeper rift than Mr. Price is willing to admit. Israelis doubt that Mr. Biden is fully briefed on the latest concessions the Europeans have offered Iran.In recent days American officials tried to allay such concerns, telling Israeli counterparts that Mr. Biden remains skeptical of Tehran’s intentions and that finalizing the agreement, if at all, may take a while longer. “I don’t have any indication that a deal will be signed tomorrow,” the policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, Jason Brodsky, told the Sun. “Iran is creating public expectations that a deal is close, even as it is hedging: Maybe a deal is possible, maybe not.”Nevertheless, Israelis are worried. Mr. Lapid has long distanced himself from his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who famously addressed a joint session of Congress to publicly spell out Israel’s concerns over the original JCPOA. Mr. Lapid vowed to keep all disagreements under wraps.Yet, in ever more frequent press briefings, tweets, and meetings between Israeli officials and Washington lawmakers who are increasingly skeptical of the deal, a growing rift between Israel and the Biden administration over Iran policy is becoming less discreet by the day. Israelis have a good reason to worry, Mr. Brodsky said. “The goal post has been moved so many times, I’d have concerns as well,” he said.

Iran Nuclear Deal Tensions Leaking Out From Behind Closed Doors

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