US Promises to Consult Israel Before Any Deal With Iran

Israeli Security 'Paramount' in Any Negotiations

In an interview with the Israeli media today, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman assured that the United States would never agree to any deal with Iran without “consulting” Israel beforehand.

Sherman echoed comments from other US officials trying to placate Israel, which oppose diplomacy with Iran, saying that they consider a “bad deal” worse than no deal at all, and that Israeli security would be the paramount issue in all talks between the P5+1 and Iran.

She went on to insist that no deal was imminent, insisting the US hadn’t agreed to any deal and would not agree to any interim agreements that would lift any sanctions against Iran.

Lifting sanctions is likely a secondary concern at this point, with Israeli lobbying groups attempting to get more and more sanctions imposed, and the White House focusing primarily on convincing them to pause those increases for the time being.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.