Israel, Arab nations want a say in Biden's Iran negotiations. Here's why his advisers are skeptical.
Representatives from Israel and several Gulf Arab nations want their countries to have a seat at the table when the Biden administration begins negotiating with Iran next year, Politico reports.
Ambassadors to the United States from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — the countries involved in the Abraham Accords — told Politico they have more at stake than the U.S. and European countries who crafted the original Iran nuclear deal in 2015, and they think the U.S. is in a stronger position now than during the Obama administration. The U.S. would sacrifice leverage by rehashing the old agreement, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer said. If regional partners were included in the negotiations, they believe they could help secure a brand new agreement that not only makes it more challenging for Iran to build a nuclear weapon, but also one that targets its ballistic missiles program and use of proxy militias.
Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agrees Biden should not "freeze" the parties out of talks. "After all, what the Biden administration should want is not just an agreement that the Iranians accept, but one that will last," he told Politico.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, Politico notes, people in Biden's orbit remember Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu working hard to "scuttle the 2015 nuclear agreement, making moves many of them deemed downright insulting" to former President Barack Obama. Therefore, they fear Israel and the Arab states may "act as spoilers" in future talks."Renegotiating everything is just unrealistic to anybody who talks to an Iranian," the official said. "The idea that we have leverage to just start over is nice in theory, but in practice there's no way the Iranians will go for it," one former U.S. official said. "If Biden comes in and that's the stand, the Iranians will be convinced that there's no serious engaging with the U.S." Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The 8 best action movies of the 21st centurythe week recommends Thrills come in many forms, from assassins and spies to regular people fighting for justice
-
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a TimelineIN DEPTH The alleged relationship between deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump has become one of the most acute threats to the president’s power
-
‘Latinos bring a wealth of knowledge and cultural connection to the ocean’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
