The United States and Israel have chosen to convene a new strategic working group on Iran, and the first round of intelligence talks on Iran’s nuclear program is expected in the coming days, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have very different views on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but the resumption of the working group is a signal that their governments are embarking on a serious and professional dialogue rather than a political fight.
Flashback: The working group was formed in the early days of the Obama administration after a visit to Netanyahu’s White House in 2009. The top secret forum was even given a special code name.
- It was the primary venue for formulating strategies for applying pressure to Iran during Obama’s first term, and it became the primary site for airborne disagreements over the nuclear deal during Obama’s second term.
- During Donald Trump’s tenure, the forum met to discuss the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and to coordinate the “maximum pressure” campaign.
- The forum is led by US and Israeli national security advisers – currently Jake Sullivan and Meir Ben-Shabbat – and includes top officials from the various national security, foreign policy and intelligence agencies in both countries.
Driving the news: Sullivan suggested the workgroup resumption during his first phone call with Ben-Shabbat on January 23.
- Israel was embroiled in a disagreement among the various agencies on how to cooperate with the White House on Iran, and the decision whether or not to accept the proposal was further delayed by domestic unrest in Israel ahead of next month’s elections. .
Behind the scenes: On Monday, Netanyahu held the first high-level inter-institutional meeting on Iran with Defense Secretary Benny Gantz, Foreign Secretary Gabi Ashkenazi and heads of the other national security and intelligence services.
- The meeting began when the various agencies provided updates on their arrangements to date with Biden’s administration to get a full picture of what had been discussed through the various channels, sources familiar with the meeting say.
- Subsequently, proposals were made to contact the Biden administration in the future. The directors of the intelligence agency Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces both stressed the need for a calm dialogue, free from public confrontation.
- The main action point was the decision to accept the proposal to resume the working group.
What’s next: The highest Israeli priority at the first meeting – which will take place via a secure video conferencing system – is to get the latest intelligence and data on Iran’s nuclear program together and assess whether the photos from the US and Israeli intelligence services are on a par. lie.
- Israeli sources familiar with the issue say a mutual intelligence baseline should be established before proceeding with policy discussions.
The state of affairs: Netanyahu was quick to voice concerns last Friday after Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the US was willing to start nuclear talks with Iran to reinstate the 2015 deal.