(The Hill) David Makovsky - The growing sense that the new Iranian government is not interested in a return to the nuclear deal means that the U.S. and Israel need to be concerned about an expedited Iranian timetable to move forward with its nuclear program under Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi without the constraints of any agreement. In the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will be the first foreign visitor to the White House. Given Israel's reputation as being tough on terror, an expression of confidence from Bennett that the U.S. is a steadfast ally is likely to win him some gratitude from an administration that has been jolted by developments in Kabul. It would also be a rebuke to the new narrative that the U.S. has given up fighting extremism. The writer, a former senior adviser to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, is director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2021-08-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive