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According to Politico, representatives from some Gulf states, as well as Israel, raised the idea in private and public conversations in the run-up to the Biden administration.
The ambassadors of three countries, in interviews with “Politico”, said that they had deficiencies in the wording of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran and said that their inclusion in it gives greater strength to the US position.
This could lead to a clash with Biden’s team, which has openly said they will seek to revive the Iran deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018.
“In light of the current challenges, participants discussed ongoing efforts to preserve the nuclear deal and how to ensure its full and effective implementation by all parties,” said European Union senior foreign affairs official Helga Schmid, who chaired the meeting.
They would rather see Biden forget about the original deal and start over, hoping for a tougher deal that would cover even Iran’s non-nuclear programs such as ballistic missiles and the use of proxy militias.
The coordinated Arab-Israeli talks are a reminder of the transformation of the political scene since Biden was Vice President Barack Obama, according to the newspaper, which said that the normalization of relations with Israel will give more weight to the demands of these countries in the circles of American foreign policy and may allow them to combine more openly in pressure. About the white house.
Politico quoted the UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al-Otaiba that when drafting the 2015 agreement, US officials only worked with their allies in Europe.
He said in an interview that it was a “wrong choice” and that Washington should maintain strong relations with all its partners in Europe and the Middle East and appear with both groups at the negotiating table.
The United Arab Emirates is one of four countries that recently agreed to take steps to normalize their relationship with Israel.
And the agreements, which were also concluded with Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, come after years of coordination through secondary channels, often to confront Iran.
As US President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on January 20, the divide between Republicans and Democrats continues over the “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran launched by President Donald Trump’s administration.
On Monday, Ambassador Otaiba and his Israeli and Bahraini counterparts participated in a “private and informal” discussion with members of the United States’ Israel Public Affairs Committee, the prominent pro-Israel group confirmed.
Such previously unimaginable meetings became increasingly common in the wake of the new Arab-Israeli agreements, and the envoys used this moment to discuss their views on what to do with Iran and the nuclear deal.
In mid-November, the same three ambassadors appeared together in a virtual session with The Economic Club of Washington, DC.
During that event, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer noted that in the past, when the United States continued six-party talks with North Korea, the regional allies of the United States, Japan and South Korea, were “at the table.”
“So the first thing I’ll say to the incoming administration is sit down with your allies in the region and listen to us,” Dermer said.
In the long term, Israel may choose not to engage in face-to-face negotiations with Iran, a country whose leaders routinely threaten Israel’s existence, but close U.S. consultation with the Israelis can give them a voice in the process, according to the site. .
For his part, Bahraini Ambassador Abdullah Al Khalifa indicated, according to “Politico”, that his country is particularly frustrated by Iranian interference in its internal affairs.
He said that “Iran has supported Shi’ite Islamic groups that have challenged the Sunni rulers of Bahrain.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration designated one such group, the Mukhtar Brigade, a terrorist organization.
“It is important for us to be part of the conversation, because we are the ones sitting in the front row in any development, and we will have to bear all the consequences,” Al Khalifa said.
