Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he is willing to accept a scenario in which the US manages to reactivate Iran’s nuclear deal, in a rare comment from a senior government official who does not reject the multilateral agreement .
“The current approach of the United States to put Iran’s nuclear program back in a box, I would accept,” Gantz told Foreign Policy in an interview published Tuesday, using the rhetoric used by the Biden administration to describe the objective of the comprehensive comprehensive action plan.
Although non-government security officials have indicated a certain degree of tolerance for the JCPOA in the past, this sentiment has not spread to public officials, and Gantz appeared to be the highest cabinet member to reflect this. in the register.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett last month assured U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House that he will not campaign publicly against Washington’s efforts to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 deal promoted. by former President Barack Obama and deserted by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2018, Israeli officials said. It was an exit from Benjamin Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who campaigned aggressively against the JCPOA and even accepted an invitation to address a joint session of Congress where he unsuccessfully pressured lawmakers against the agreement.
Although Bennett also made it clear that he opposes the nuclear deal and has not publicly stated that his resurrection is something Israel could live with, as Gantz did in Tuesday’s interview.
The defense minister was also clear that he wanted to see a “viable US-led plan B” that would include significant political, diplomatic and economic pressure against Tehran jointly imposed by the US, Europe, Russia and China if spoken in Vienna by The US-Iran return to the JCPOA is not bearing fruit.
Television cameras in front of the “Grand Hotel Vienna”, where nuclear talks take place behind closed doors in Vienna, Austria, on June 20, 2021. (Florian Schroetter / AP)
“We also need to connect China in this, Asia needs to play a role,” Gantz told FP, noting Iran’s growing economic ties with the Far East. “Israel does not have the capacity to lead a real Plan B, we cannot draw up a system of international economic sanctions. That must be led by the United States. “
“Iran must fear that the US and its partners are serious,” he added.
Gantz also indicated in foreign policy that Israel had its own “plan C” that would involve military action.
“If the push gets to push, we’ll get there,” Gantz said, before switching from Hebrew to English to add, “We’re not America, but we have our capabilities.”
He went on to warn that if world powers do not prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, this will lead to a nuclear arms race. “Other states will not just sit quietly … they will buy it directly on the shelf of Pakistan or whoever.”
When asked to comment on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban, Gantz defended the Biden administration, explaining that the policy had been “completely understandable … otherwise, you could to be there forever, ”he added, adding that“ there are no happy retreats ”. “.
However, he said Iran should not be allowed to deduce from the Afghanistan scenario that “all you have to do is stay strong and determined and the West will bend.”
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as they meet at the White House Oval Office on Friday, August 27, 2021 in Washington. (Photo by AP / Evan Vucci)
Also on the Palestinian issue, Gantz offered some of his most detailed comments so far.
Although he expressed his support for the “need[ing] two political entities here, ”he was not quoted as using the term“ state ”to describe the future Palestinian entity he envisions.
He also said Israel would not dismantle any of its West Bank settlements, leaving far less territory than Palestinians anticipate for its state and what most analysts believe will produce viable borders.
“[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas is still dreaming of the 1967 lines … That will not happen, “Gantz said.” You have to realize that we are staying there … We will not withdraw the settlements, “Gantz told FP.
It was the first time Gantz had expressed opposition to the evacuation of settlements, not even differentiating between Israeli cities closest to the Green Lines from those in the upper West Bank as he did in the past. The refusal to evacuate the settlements has been a recent Netanyahu policy, but it had not yet spread to the center of the political map where Gantz has tried to establish himself.
View of the Givat Asaf outpost near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank on May 15, 2014. (Miriam Alster / Flash 90)
Still, he insisted that maintaining ties with Abbas and the AP is “a value of utmost importance.”
The two met in Ramallah last month, after which Gantz announced a series of small gestures aimed at improving Palestinian livelihoods. His office argues that it is in Israel’s interest to strengthen the PA to present a moderate alternative to the Hamas terrorist group that rules Gaza.
But Bennett is still at the helm of the government and has made it clear that he will not even meet with Abbas, let alone with the political negotiations.
“Overall, the government is working well: we are making room [to work]… but I am the leader in security, “Gantz said.