USA AND ISRAEL
Biden and Bennett focus on Iran in first meeting: ‘If diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options’ Ron Kampeas
Naftali Bennett.
WASHINGTON (JTA)—In his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Joe Biden said that although he prefers diplomatic means to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, he is not afraid to “turn to other options” on the issue. The pledge captured what both men, who are in varying degrees of political precariousness right now, hoped to extract from the meeting: A bigger focus on what they agree on than what they disagree on, and the start of a new era in relations between Israel and U.S. Democrats. “We’re going to put diplomacy first and see where that takes us,” Biden told the press alongside Bennett during a
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break in their meeting on Friday, August 27. “But if diplomacy fails,” he added, his voice raising in volume, “we’re ready to turn to other options.” For Biden, it was a welcome momentary distraction from the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan. The meeting, originally planned for the previous day, was delayed after bombings at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. troops. Back home, Bennett is presiding over a fractious political coalition with a single vote majority, struggling to control a new COVID-19 surge that has dented his popularity and dealing with the fallout of an embarrassing phone call, in which he confused the name of a fallen soldier. But for a few hours at the meeting, the two leaders were able to pivot to Iran
and other issues of import to Israel— a significant gesture on Biden’s part, given his preoccupations with the Afghanistan situation. Pro-Israel officials briefed on the meeting said that it went well for a first visit; there was chemistry between the two men, and it went longer than planned. Bennett opposes Biden’s efforts to reenter the Iran nuclear deal—the diplomacy Biden referred to—but unlike his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, he is realistic about the prospects of dissuading Biden from trying. So, extracting a robust promise from Biden to consider “other options,” including possible military ones, will allow Bennett to claim he influenced the president. “The Iranians are spinning their
