Kan news quoted a senior Israeli official as saying the idea is to schedule a meeting on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session. A possible date is Sept. 20, after Biden addresses the United Nations General Assembly, the official said on condition of anonymity. The report said the two leaders are also expected to speak on the phone in the coming days, a report also carried by the Ynet news website, which cited a senior US source. Meanwhile, continuing his visit to the US, Defense Secretary Benny Gantz told the heads of Washington’s top think tanks on Saturday that “improvements are necessary” to the emerging new nuclear deal with Iran. “Iran has acquired knowledge, infrastructure and capabilities” in recent years, Gantz said, “much of which is irreversible.” Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms He said “this will allow Iran to further expand its nuclear program during the period of a less restrictive deal.” And Iran “could get a nuclear weapon when that deal expires in 2031.” Defense Secretary Benny Gantz meets Washington DC think tank leaders, August 27, 2022. (Yossi May) So, he argued, “improvements are needed in the nuclear deal debate – with an emphasis on the sunset clause,” under which certain restrictions expire in nine years. Ganj also noted that Iran provides hundreds of millions of dollars annually to regional terrorist groups, including Hezbollah. “Therefore, regardless of any future scenarios, action must be taken against Iranian proxies, which threaten the entire Middle East region.” Defense Secretary Benny Gantz meets Washington DC think tank leaders, August 27, 2022. (Yossi May) On Friday, Gantz met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, telling him that Israel “needs” the US to have a credible military option against Iran, a senior Israeli official told reporters. According to the defense official, Israel has received “good indications” that the US has an offensive plan to work against Iran. He did not elaborate, but said it would potentially ensure that Tehran would be more flexible when negotiating the renewed deal. The official said the meeting between Gantz and Sullivan in Washington was “intimate” and “positive”. He said Gantz had highlighted Israel’s objection to the potential deal, which Israel has described as “very bad”. The official warned that Iran’s nuclear program has expanded significantly since 2018, when then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The official said he personally viewed Trump’s move as a mistake. Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington, DC, August 26, 2022. (Yossi Mai/Ministry of Defense) The official said the situation has reached a point where there are only two scenarios: No deal, which would allow Iran to gradually further expand its nuclear program, or a bad deal that does not serve Israel’s interests. The official said Israel has two main concerns about the potential deal: the so-called sunset clause, which would lift restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program when the deal expires; and sanctions relief that would allow Iran to increase funding to its proxies. The official added that Israel has tried to influence the agreement in some aspects as much as possible, but “at the moment, it is far from serving Israel’s interests as it sees it.” Israel is seeking to make the agreement “longer and stronger,” the official said. But the official said Gantz’s objections were received favorably by Sullivan. “I think they’re listening to us even if the Americans, in the end, don’t accept everything we want,” the official said. The official said Israel would still have the freedom to act against Iran, adding that whether a deal is signed or not, Jerusalem would continue its efforts against what it sees as hostile Iranian actions. A readout issued by the US National Security Council spokesman said that “Sullivan emphasized President Biden’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, and the two exchanged views on ways to deepen the US-Israel security partnership, including through of regional cooperation and coordination”. Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets Mossad chief David Barnea at the Ministry of Defense, Tel Aviv, August 25, 2022. (Prime Minister’s Office) “They discussed the U.S. commitment to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon and the need to address threats from Iran and Iran-based proxies.” On Thursday, Gantz met with US Central Command chief General Michael Kurila at CENTCOM headquarters in Florida. Gantz was briefed on US plans for possible scenarios after reaching or not reaching an agreement on a nuclear deal. Gantz and Kurilla’s discussion focused on ways to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the US military, ways to deal with the Iranian threat in the Middle East and a “Plan B” for the nuclear deal. CENTCOM officially assumed responsibility for the US military’s relationship with Israel in September of last year. Until then, Israel was in the European Command’s (EUCOM) area of responsibility in order to avoid potential tensions between CENTCOM and the Arab and Muslim nations under its jurisdiction, many of which did not maintain formal ties to Israel and would therefore they don’t want to be seen as mutual allies. In recent years, however, CENTCOM’s Arab allies have increasingly developed relations with Israel, some informally, so the issue has largely faded. “Israeli influence in the region is becoming stronger,” the senior defense official told reporters on Friday. “Regional players are no less bothered than we are by the emerging deal. We have channels of communication and in many ways they trust us to persuade and influence,” he said. The official said such dialogue is taking place “under the CENTCOM umbrella.” Gantz was visiting the US the same week as a trip there by Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata, both carrying a message of dismay from Jerusalem over speeding up talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran Iran said on Wednesday it had received the US response to its proposal to return to the 2015 deal. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to characterize the administration’s response to the latest proposal, but noted that “we are closer now than we were just a few weeks ago because Iran has decided to do some concessions”. Emanuel Fabian and agencies contributed to this report.
