Israel’s PM set to urge Biden to block Iran nuclear deal

Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett will urge Joe Biden to block the Iran nuclear deal at his first meeting with the US president, at the White House on Thursday.

Mr Bennett flew to Washington on Tuesday in his maiden trip abroad since he became prime minister in June, saying his meeting with Mr Biden will “plan how to block the Iranian nuclear programme”.

The new Israeli leader will be seeking to "reset" relations with the US Democratic Party, which perceived former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be a close ally of the Republicans.

"There are new leaderships in the US and in Israel, " Mr Bennett said before departing. "I bring with me from Jerusalem a new spirit that is founded on years of special connection between the two countries."

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Topping the agenda will be Iran. A senior Israeli official said the prime minister would present Mr Biden with a new Israeli strategy on the issue of Iran that would differ from that of Mr Netanyahu, even though both men have made it clear Israel will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb.

The official said the new strategy was designed to “address the issue of uranium enrichment, Iran’s efforts to manufacture nuclear warheads for missiles and Iranian operations in the region”.

Israel, which opposed the 2015 deal – under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear activities in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions – believes the pace of Iran’s uranium enrichment has already reached a level as to render irrelevant any return to the nuclear deal at this juncture.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful but has progressively withdrawn from key commitments, including on uranium enrichment, in response to sanctions imposed by former US president Donald Trump after he unilaterally withdrew Washington from the deal in 2018.

The two leaders will also discuss the Palestinian issue but Washington is aware that the wafer-thin majority of Mr Bennett’s coalition, comprising parties from across the political spectrum, rules out any return to peace talks in the foreseeable future.

An expected friction point at the talks will be the Biden administration’s pledge to reopen a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinians. Mr Trump closed that mission in 2019 when he transferred the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Mr Bennett opposes reopening a consulate for Palestinians, believing such a move would undermine Israel’s claim of sovereignty over the entire city.

Reconstruction plans for Gaza following the conflict in May and renewed tension along the border are also likely to come up in the talks. Israeli jets bombed Hamas targets early on Tuesday following violent border protests on Saturday during which an Israeli soldier was critically injured and dozens of protesters were hurt.