Jerusalem: US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to try to ease tensions over the Iran nuclear deal, as the Israeli leader urged lawmakers in Washington to reject the hard-won agreement.
The two men greeted each other with a long handshake before entering talks that lasted nearly two hours, making no public comment about the tensions over the nuclear accord that Netanyahu has harshly condemned.
Their meeting came on the final day of Carter’s visit to Israel, the first stop on a regional tour aimed at reassuring US allies who have concerns over the Iran deal. He is also to travel to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, Carter met Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon and signalled the United States was ready to boost military cooperation with the Jewish state.
He also toured the country’s northern border with Lebanon for an assessment of the threat Israel says Hezbollah poses.
Iran is accused of supporting militants in the region, including Israeli enemies Hezbollah and Hamas, and Israel argues that the expected lifting of sanctions under the nuclear accord will allow it to boost help for such groups.
While some have urged the government to move on and begin adapting to the agreement, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said yesterday opposition would be maintained in the hope of influencing the US Congress.
US lawmakers have 60 days to review the agreement, though their chances of derailing it are viewed as slim.
“We must not think that our fight is pointless,” Hotovely said. “We must continue to influence the Americans and prevent the lifting of sanctions.”
Carter sought Monday to address Israel’s worries that the deal with its arch-foe Iran meant Washington was shifting its focus in the region, saying Israel remained “the bedrock of American strategy in the Middle East”.
Under the July 14 agreement, Iran agreed to dismantle or mothball much of its nuclear industry in return for an easing and eventual lifting of sanctions.
World powers called it an historic opportunity to set relations with Iran on a new path, but the deal has faced opposition from hardliners both in Tehran and Washington.
Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif defended the agreement in a speech to parliament in Tehran, saying “we should not forget that any deal is a give and take”. AFP
