Today, Naftali Bennett and Joe Biden are expected to meet for the first time. Shmuel Rosner cites an unnamed Israeli “high-ranking diplomatic source,” who told reporters that Jerusalem has two principal messages to convey to the White House: that Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the country’s current difficulties, and that it would be unwise for the U.S. to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Rosner comments:
Think about these two messages. The first one creates an atmosphere of mutual agreement. For Biden, as well as for Bennett, blaming the predecessor is a good start. . . . The second one is also not so problematic as it used to be, because at this moment, there’s no JCPOA to which to return. The Iranians seem uninterested. Bennett would say: an agreement isn’t going to solve the problem. Biden would say: we oppose a nuclear Iran and await Iran’s return to the negotiating table. No big dispute.
But note this: blaming the predecessor and waiting for a better agreement or no agreement is a political strategy, not a strategy against Iran. Does Bennett have such strategy to propose that Biden would accept? Does Biden have such a strategy to propose that Bennett would accept? We can [safely predict] that the meeting is going to be declared a success. And it will be a success. The two leaders will probably get along, and will do their best not to muddy the waters of U.S.-Israel relations
And yet, a nagging question remains: are the leaders in Tehran worried about the possible outcome of the Biden-Bennett meeting? If they aren’t, the meeting cannot honestly be declared a success.
Read more on Jewish Journal: https://jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/339986/when-bennett-meets-biden-terms-of-success/