U.S.-Israel tensions build as Iran talks progress

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News ID: 51477
Iran » Iran
Publish Date: 21:47 - 21 April 2021
Wednesday, 21 April 2021 (YJC)_ Amid nuclear talks in Vienna, the gaps between the Israeli government and the Biden administration are growing.

U.S.-Israel tensions build as Iran talks progressAs nuclear talks in Vienna enter a critical stage, the gaps and suspicions over Iran between the Israeli government and the Biden administration are growing.

Both sides want to avoid the kind of public fight that emerged during the negotiations over the 2015 deal. But in private, there's growing frustration on both sides about the lack of trust, coordination and transparency.

In between the first and second round of nuclear talks — which the U.S. hopes will lead to a restoration of the deal and Israel hopes will fail — an apparent act of Israeli sabotage led to an explosion at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

Two days later, senior U.S. and Israeli officials met for a second round of strategic talks on Iran.

According to two Israeli officials involved in the talks, Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat raised concerns that the U.S. was not showing sufficient consideration of the Israeli government’s positions during its Iran diplomacy, Israeli officials tell me.

The U.S. side raised concerns of its own that Israel was engaging in military and intelligence operations against Iran without fully informing Washington, the Israeli officials say.

The Israelis stressed their right and duty to defend Israel against Iran. Israeli officials tell me they had notified the U.S. in advance of recent operations. "It was not a surprise for the Americans," one Israeli official told me.

The Israelis claim that the Biden administration hasn't been fully transparent with them on the proposals it is making in Vienna — for example, on the non-nuclear sanctions the U.S. would consider lifting, per a senior Israeli official.

A senior Biden administration official pushed back on those claims, stressing that senior U.S. and Israeli officials have been engaged in close consultations on an ongoing basis. “The U.S. and Israel will maintain this close and candid dialogue going forward," the U.S. official said.

The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to discuss its talks with the Biden administration.

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