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Thursday, August 25, 2022

Biden Rejects Urgent Phone Call from Israeli PM over Iran: ‘On Vacation’

 

srael Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s request to hold an emergency telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss the nascent nuclear deal with Iran has been rebuffed with the excuse that the American president “is on vacation,” Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

According to Israel’s Channel 13, Lapid sought to speak with Biden in an attempt to prevent a return to the 2015 JCPOA nuclear pact but U.S. officials denied the request, informing Lapid Biden “is on vacation.”

In another instance of American rejection, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was set to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday but was informed that the latter was “out of Washington,” the report said.

Gantz will meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan alongside his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata.

Channel 13 cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying that “the gaps between [Israel] and the Americans are very large” in the newly drafted deal.

Senior Israeli officials have lamented the new deal is “even worse’ than the one that preceded it, which former president Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.

On Wednesday, Lapid delivered a rare condemnation of Biden, saying that the latest proposal between Tehran and Western powers crossed even his own “red lines.”

“In our eyes, it does not meet the standards set by President Biden himself: preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear state,” Lapid said.

“We have made it clear to everyone: if a deal is signed, it does not obligate Israel. We will act to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state,” Lapid said.

A day later, however, Lapid said the pressure tactics against the American administration were working.

“The Americans accepted a large part of the things that we wanted them to include in the drafts,” Lapid said on Thursday. “It is a welcome change, and the dialogue with them is good and we will continue it.”

Biden has already faced criticism for using his vacation time as an excuse to ignore issues at home, this week coming under fire for ignoring the border crisis.

1 comment:

Frum but normal said...

Is Lapid stupid, doesn’t he realize he is dealing with a demented Alzheimer diseased treasonous old DemonRat.
This filthy Marxist traitor won’t even defend his own country when it’s invaded by millions of illegal gangster criminals and drug dealers, so why would this rat care about Israel.
This terrorist loving rabies infected sewer rat, deliberately abandoned 40 billion worth of arms for the murderous Taliban.
He couldnt give a damn if Iran gets nuclear weapons.
Have we forgotten,this filthy anti American monster was the only one in Obama’s cabinet who voted against killing that monster Bin Ladin.