President Joe Biden has signed a pact with Israel, Tehran’s reaction is immediate
On his second day of visit in Jewish statethe US president, Joe Biden sign with the premier Israeli Yair Lapid a security agreementthat it requires Washington to use all its power to prevent Iran from acquiring the atomic weapon.
The reaction of the president Iranian, Ebrahim Raisiwho threatened a “harsh and unpleasant response to “any mistake” made by Washington or its allies in the region. The dossier Iranian is a sensitive issue on which the two allied countries have had different opinions over the years and often conflicting, sometimes resulting in real clashes.
Also in this case there was no lack of distinctions between the two leaders, although in a softer tone than in the past. Lapid, who in less than four months will have to face the judgment of the polls and has breath on the neck of the opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, a well-known hawk on the subject, has once again put the emphasis on need to present a “credible military threat” to force the Islamic Republic to accept a new nuclear deal.
The Israeli premier reiterated that Tehran must be prevented from continuing to buy time, arguing that “words” are not enough. “The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if it continues to develop its nuclear program, the free world will use force“, he said. A line of thinking that found Biden disagree:” I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way, “he said, reiterating however” the inviolable commitment of the US to the security of Israel. We will make sure that he can defend himself. “
On the topic Netanyahu is also back, who saw Biden for a twenty-minute interview, included in the program to avoid giving the impression of US preference in view of the November elections. After the meeting, the Likud leader argued that the head of the White House agreed on the need to have a credible military option against Iran. “In any case, this is what I will do if and when I return premier“, added Bibi, sending a clear message to the electorate ahead of the November vote.
Biden will visit Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem and then travel to Bethlehem to meet Palestinian President Abu Mazen, but no big announcements are expected on this front, as well as measures to provide access to 4G internet in the Palestinian Territories and the allocation of a substantial aid package for the network of hospitals in the eastern part of the city that the Palestinians claim as the future capital of their state.
However, regarding the stalled peace process, no announcements or pressure on the parties are expected on the horizon: Biden has already said several times that he does not intend to review the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, announced in 2017 by predecessor Donald Trump; as for the reopening of the American consulate in the city, destined for the Palestinians, it expresses the intention but has not acted so far.
In non-idyllic relations with the Palestinians, it also weighs heavily recent American position on the killing of al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin. Ramallah hoped for a clear stance of Washington’s condemnation of the Israeli ally while the State Department concluded that the reporter was probably killed by the soldiers, but not intentionally: a Pilates formula that has displeased both sides.
Not only that, the words pronounced by the American president on his arrival yesterday in Israel, with his reference to “support for the two-state solution”, of which he does not see a concrete realization “in the near future”, have angered the PNA so much that sources have already made it known that there will not be a joint note tomorrow but separate statements.
On the subject Biden returned to the press conference with Lapid, reiterating his support for the “two-state solution for two peoples, both of whom have deep and ancient roots with this land, to live side by side in peace and security”. This is “a guarantee for a strong and democratic State of Israel, with a Jewish majority”, was the laconic comment of the Israeli premier, closing the speech.
After the Palestinian leg, Air Force One will leave for a historic flight to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, where the attention and interests of both the US and Israel are pinned. In addition to energy security and the American request for an increase in oil production, we look at the possible opening of a path of normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, formally devoid of diplomatic relations but linked by common opposition to Iran.
According to diplomatic sources, an agreement will be announced tomorrow for the transfer of sovereignty over two strategic islands in the Red Sea, Tritan and Sanifar, from Cairo to Riyadh, with the agreement of Israel.. The measures will also include the Saudi green light for the use by the Jewish state of its airspace for the route to India and China and the launch of direct flights for Muslim pilgrims. of Biden, there is the meeting with the crown prince Mohamed bin Salman, on which the controversy has been unleashed for weeks: although not a bilateral, the face to face marks a controversial change in the political line of the president who in the electoral campaign had strongly condemned the murder of Saudi dissident reporter Jamal Kashoggi, for whom US intelligence has referred to MbS as the ‘mastermind’.
After the harsh editorial in the Washington Post, convinced that Biden’s trip “erodes the moral authority” of the United States, today Khashoggi’s girlfriend, Hatice Cengiz, has returned to attack the head of the White House condemning “the enormous backtracking. it’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and convenience above principles and values. ”
#Usa #Biden #signs #pact #Israel #wrath #Tehran