US and Israel to Hold Meeting on Iran

Talks will be held through a forum headed by each country's national security advisor

The US and Israel will meet on Thursday through a working group headed by each country’s national security advisor. The talks are expected to be focused on Iran.

“On March 11, the United States and Israel will hold the first virtual US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group meeting, led by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat,” the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

The White House said that the discussions will cover “regional issues” and did not mention Iran by name, but a source told The Times of Israel that the talks will be focused on collaborating on Iran policy. A similar working group was established during the Obama administration, although the meetings were not made public, and the group was disbanded over Israel’s opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to avoid a confrontational relationship with President Biden. To do this, Netanyahu’s and Israel’s opposition to the new administration rejoining the JCPOA is expected to be conveyed through this working group.

Robert Malley, Biden’s Iran envoy, said on Wednesday that the US does not want a repeat of the contentious relationship with Israel when the JCPOA was first negotiated and signed. “We don’t always agree, but the talks are extremely open and positive. While we may have different interpretations and views as to what happened in 2015–2016, neither of us wishes to repeat it,” he said.

So far, the Biden administration has yet to make a sincere effort to revive the JCPOA. Biden officials are saying they want to restore the deal, but Iran remains under crippling economic sanctions. Besides the pressure from Israel, President Biden is also under intense domestic pressure not to return to the original agreement.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.